“Now, if you explore what you mean when you say you 'love yourself,' you will make the startling discovery that everything that you love is something that you thought was other than yourself, even if it be very ordinary things such ice cream or booze. In the conventional sense, booze is not you. Nor is ice cream. It comes 'you,' in a manner of speaking, when you consume it, but then you don't 'have it' any more, so you look around for more in order to love it once again. But so long as you love it, it's never you. When you love people, however selfishly you love them [...], still, it is somebody else that you love. And as you inquire into this and follow honestly your own selfishness, many interesting transformations begin to occur in you. One of the most interesting of these transformations is being directly and honestly 'selfish.' You stop deceiving people.”
Quote by Alan Watts
Author
Alan Watts
Alan Watts was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker known for his exploration of the relationship between Eastern and Western thought, particularly focusing on Zen Buddhism and its influence on Western culture. His work has influenced many in the areas of spirituality, psychology, and the philosophy of science. more
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