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December 29, 2025Let’s be honest: if Alan Watts were alive today, he’d probably be hosting a wildly popular YouTube channel called something like “The Tao of Tuesdays” while reminding us—between sips of tea—that we are all taking ourselves far too seriously.
And he’d be right.
Because despite our shiny AIs, existential dread, and cultural addiction to productivity hacks (“Eight Ways to Optimize Your Inner Child”), we’re still struggling with the very problems Watts was diagnosing in the 1960s:
- chronic anxiety,
- identity confusion,
- spiritual claustrophobia,
- and a deep suspicion that the universe lost the instruction manual ages ago.
Yet Watts, with his trademark grin and British charm, told us something radical that we’re still trying to swallow:
“You are not a stranger in the universe. You are what the universe is doing.”
Not bad for a man who never wrote a self-help book with the word “grit” in it.
Why Watts Still Hits Hard Today
Watts did two brilliant things most modern thinkers avoid:
1. He made mystery feel normal.
Not threatening.
Not embarrassing.
Not something to keep hidden behind a stack of peer-reviewed journals.
He simply said, “Of course the world is strange. Isn’t it wonderful?”
In an age where everyone desperately wants certainty—political, scientific, spiritual—Watts gently reminds us that uncertainty is where life actually happens.
2. He dissolved the illusion of the isolated self.
We love pretending we’re lone operators, fighting our way through reality like it’s a hostile escape room.
Watts countered with:
“Relax. You’re a wave in the ocean. You don’t need to control everything to belong.”
That single insight could save us from half the burnout on LinkedIn—but I digress.
How Watts Connects to My Philosophy of Alignment
I’ve been developing something I call the Philosophy of Alignment, which blends psychology, consciousness studies, art, mysticism, and a dash of ancient wisdom. My goal is to help people navigate a chaotic world without losing their sense of wonder—or their minds.
Watts is a perfect partner in crime for this project. Here’s why:
1. Alignment requires cooperation with reality, not combat.
Watts said life is a dance, not a battle.
Alignment says the same thing—just with better choreography.
2. Alignment holds mystery as a feature, not a bug.
Watts invites us to explore the unknown without demanding that it behave.
Alignment builds a structure around that exploration so people can reflect, grow, and integrate their experiences.
3. Alignment sees the self as interconnected.
This isn’t just metaphysics—it’s practical psychology.
Most of our suffering comes from trying to manage life as if we’re separate from it.
Watts offers the metaphor.
Alignment offers the method.
4. Watts makes philosophy human again.
And honestly… that’s half my mission.
To make meaning-making feel less like homework and more like discovery.
So What Do We Do With Watts in 2026?
We let him remind us:
- Stop gripping life like it’s a malfunctioning steering wheel.
- Your consciousness is not a glitch; it’s part of the fabric.
- Mystery isn’t the enemy of sanity—sometimes it’s the cure.
- And maybe, just maybe, we don’t need to have everything figured out to live well.
In a culture obsessed with optimization, Watts gives us permission to breathe.
In a world drowning in information, he offers wisdom.
In a time of fear, he offers play.
And if that isn’t alignment, I don’t know what is.