We humans looks for patterns in things. I am especially prone to this habit. Patterns help us understand. They help us group. They help us sort things out and try to learn. Sometimes they mislead us. Other times, they light the way.

Following my discovery of the works of Alan Watts – – far too late in life, but better late than never – – I have been trying to reconcile his inspired philosophy with his early death. Here is a man who, from earliest adulthood, spoke with the eloquence and power of a prophet. He spoke of reality, the art of living, and the paradoxes of our existence. He is the sort of man whom you would want to see live past 100 as a revered sage, helping to lift humanity.