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Everyone has love, but it can only come out when he is convinced of the impossibility and the frustration of trying to love himself.
Alan Watts
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Love requires self-acceptance, which often eludes us due to our inner struggles.

In this quote, Alan Watts suggests that while everyone is capable of love, it is only when individuals confront their self-doubt and frustrations that they can truly express and receive love. This highlights the connection between self-love and the ability to love others, indicating that our internal battles must be reconciled before authentic love can flow outward.

Themes

LoveSelf-AcceptanceInner PeaceFrustrationImpossibility

In practice

Example use cases

In a self-help seminar about emotional well-being.

More from Alan Watts

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There is only this now. It does not come from anywhere; it is not going anywhere. It is not permanent, but it is not impermanent. Though moving, it is always still. When we try to catch it, it seems to run away, and yet it is always here and there is no escape from it. And when we turn around to find the self which knows this moment, we find that it has vanished like the past.
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Many people never grow up. They stay all their lives with a passionate need for external authority and guidance, pretending not to trust their own judgment.
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The Godhead is never an object of its own knowledge. Just as a knife doesn't cut itself, fire doesn't burn itself, light doesn't illuminate itself. It's always an endless mystery to itself.
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Quote by Alan Watts | QuoteProject