Today is July 21 and the Navigate the Chaos question to consider is “How often do you become intensely aware of your relationship with everything else that’s going on?”
British philosopher Alan Watts wrote Hermits in New York to help people understand the value of becoming quiet in order to see and hear.
People who successfully navigate the chaos understand the value of solitude.
Watts wrote “Let's take hermits. People today think being a hermit is a very unhealthy thing to do. Very antisocial, doesn't contribute anything to everybody else - because everybody else is busy contributing like blazes, and a few people have to run off and get out of the way. But I'll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you'll come to understand that you're connected with everything. That every little insect that comes buzzing around you is a messenger, and that little insect is connected with human beings everywhere else. You can hear. You become incredibly sensitive in your ears and you hear far-off sounds. And just by the very nature of isolating yourself and becoming quiet, you become intensely aware of your relationship with everything else that's going on…human beings can acquire a certain solitude, even in the middle of New York City. It's rather easier, as a matter of fact, to find solitude in New York City than it is in Des Moines, Iowa…. a human represents a certain kind of development, wherein a maximal sense of his oneness with the whole universe goes hand in hand with the maximum development of his personality as somebody unique and different.”
How often do you become intensely aware of your relationship with everything else that's going on?
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