Good Morning!! I can’t believe we’re only a week away from Christmas. This year’s gone so fast! So do that Christmas shopping now!! It’s the season of giving, and generosity is a virtue.

Today, for our main course, we’re going to learn about desire through the ideas of Alan Watts and Zen Buddhism. To burn that off, we’re going to do something called the Grip Test. To wrap it up with our Book Nook, we’ll open up Alan Watts’ The Way of Zen.

Let’s get to it! Thought Breakfast is served!

Desire itself is not suffering, attachment is.

Yesterday, Spinoza showed us desire as life asserting itself. Today, we’re going to see that when that desire is gripped and clung to, it turns against us. Power becomes paralysis when we try to possess what, by nature, is inherently moving.

Zen Buddhism calls this clinging (upādāna). Buddhism makes a distinction between desire (natural movement of life) and clinging (trying to freeze the movement). Suffering, then, arises when we say “This must stay.” The problem isn’t in wanting pleasure, meaning, love, or security. It’s demanding permanence from things that are inherently impermanent.

Watts reframes desire as a rhythm, and not a problem. His key metaphor is the famous idea that “muddy water clears when left alone.” Additionally, he says that trying to hold life still is like holding your breath. Maybe you can do it for a little, but it surely will not last. The tighter the grip you keep, the more your anxiety will increase. Desire turns painful when the self tries to own an experience rather than simply participate in it.

So the question here is not “How do I stop wanting?” It’s “Can I want without clinging?” Can desire be felt fully and allowed to pass like sound, the breath, and rain?

Now, we’ve seen desire through the eyes of Plato (desire reveals lack), Schopenhauer (desire repeats mechanically), Spinoza (desire is power), and now Watts (desire is fine; attachment is the trap).

Bring to mind something that you want right now, big or small.

Ask:

Imagine holding it with a clenched fist, then holding it with an open palm.

Ask:

This exercise allows us to physically feel the difference between desire and attachment, not just think about it.

“The desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing. To hold your breath is to lose your breath. A society based on the pursuit of security is, therefore, an illusion. To live is to be willing to die; to cling is to lose.” - Alan Watts, The Way of Zen

This passage frames the clinging itself as the source of suffering. It uses a simple, bodily metaphor (the breath) that matches perfectly with Zen forms of clarity.

Wanting isn’t the problem. Gripping is. So we must let desire move through rather than be owned.

Munch on that for today. Try to notice the difference between desire and attachment, and you will be freer. Take a breath, loosen your grip, and come back tomorrow for another steaming hot plate of Thought Breakfast!

Thank you for reading along with us today! If you enjoy this content, and want to start your days grounded in thought and mindfulness, I suggest you have a seat at our table! Smash that button below to check out more editions and subscribe!

Remember to stay mindful, smell the flowers, and take it easy.

Chef Ricky - Thought Breakfast