#4 | Life is Like Music

Video length: 4 minutes

What is this video about?

"Life is Like Music" features Alan Watts, a British-American philosopher who interpreted Eastern philosophy for Western audiences. Watts makes the point that that there is an alternative perspective to seeing life as a journey with a serious destination that must be reached. Instead, he compares life to music; we don't listen to a symphony just to hear the final note. The entire musical experience is the point. Similarly, life isn't about rushing toward some ultimate achievement; the living itself is what matters.

Why is it relevant to Strategic Happiness?

What Watts describes is the mind's tendency to pull us out of the present moment and into the future. The psyche creates concepts of where we need to go and what we need to achieve, then we spend our lives serving these mental constructs rather than experiencing what's actually happening right now. This is the voice in your head; that constant mental chatter projecting into the future, creating goals it insists are necessary for happiness. While useful at times, this mental activity can actually take us away from the peace and joy available in this moment.