πŸ“š Watts Alan – The Universe Experiencing Itself
05. The Art of Awareness

35. Arriving Here, Again and Again

A reflection on presence as a continual return β€” revealing that arrival is not a future event, but the simple recognition of what is already here.

2009-03-10 β€’ 2 min read

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Arriving Here, Again and Again

> "This is it." β€” Alan Watts

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The Arrival That Wasn’t Ahead

For most of our lives, we believe arrival lies somewhere in the future.

A place where everything settles.

Where questions stop.

Where we finally feel complete.

But what if arrival was never ahead of you?

What if it has always been here?

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The Habit of Leaving

The mind constantly moves.

It leaves this moment for the next idea,

the next plan,

the next improvement.

Even while reading these words, it wants to move on.

But life does not move the way thought does.

Life remains.

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Returning Without Drama

Arriving here is not mystical.

It is not dramatic.

It doesn’t require effort.

It is simply the quiet recognition:

this breath, this sound, this sensation β€”

nothing is missing.

You don’t reach it.

You notice it.

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Again and Again

And yes, you will drift.

Thought will pull you away.

Plans will form.

Memories will replay.

That’s natural.

The art is not to stay permanently present.

The art is to return β€” gently, repeatedly, without judgment.

Again.

And again.

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Nothing to Achieve

There is no final enlightenment waiting at the end of this practice.

No ultimate state to secure.

Only this ongoing arrival.

This constant rediscovery.

Life does not demand that you become anything.

It only invites you to be here.

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> "You don’t arrive at life once.

You arrive here β€” again and again."