--- product_id: 771032608 title: "The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety" price: "320579CFA" currency: XOF in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.sn/products/771032608-the-wisdom-of-insecurity-a-message-for-an-age-anxiety store_origin: SN region: Senegal --- # The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety **Price:** 320579CFA **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety - **How much does it cost?** 320579CFA with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sn](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/771032608-the-wisdom-of-insecurity-a-message-for-an-age-anxiety) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Suggests that the best way to achieve security in life is to let go of the anxiety associated with the past and future, understand and accept the limits of technology and science, and to focus on the present moment. Review: Great book - Brilliant book for understanding how to experience life. Review: Fresh thinking for modern life. - Alan Watts was one of the great popularisers of 'eastern' thinking in the west. This 1951 classic is probably an excellent starting point for anyone wanting an introduction to Watts' writing. Even though this book is well over 60 years old, it remains an extremely timely read, and it is surprisingly fresh in both its approach and thinking. Watts' starting point is the predicament of western man in the mid twentieth century; the book is definitely a product of 'you've never had it so good' 1950's materialism. Watts was one of the first people to detect the spiritual emptiness that many people feel in modern society (in spite of rising living standards and longevity) and in this book he proposes, if not a cure for this feeling of emptiness, then at least a new way of looking at things. Watts also shows how scientific scepticism has undermined the belief in God. Watts sums up this stance perfectly: 'If, the scientists would say, you believe in God, you must do so on purely emotional grounds, without basis in logic or fact.' Needless to say such scepticism has grown inordinately since Watts wrote these words and it has perhaps reached its zenith in recent years with the 'New Atheist' movement. This scientific viewpoint has made the belief in the Christian God untenable for many western people, and it is to such an audience that Watts aims his writing. There are so many pithy statements in this book; every page seems to contain a phrase or sentence that just leaps out at you and I love Watts' distinction between faith and belief: 'belief clings while faith lets go.' You could certainly see similarities between Watts' writing in this book and the work of J. Krishnamurti in such books as 'The First and Last Freedom.' (1954) Watts and Krishnamurti also share similiar preoccupations with 'the thought and the thinker,' the burden of selfhood and the nature of time and its role in creating psychology insecurity. In spite of these similarities, however, Watts' fascinating blend of eastern and western thinking and his own distinctive turn of phrase give him a memorable voice all of his own. In summary an excellent and influential book. Many modern writers have taken many of the ideas that Watts first set out in English all those years ago and taken them mainstream but, for me, Watts is the original and the best. ## Features - The Wisdom of Insecurity A Message for an Age of Anxiety ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 6,615 Reviews | ## Images ![The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/716aGRFv0hL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great book *by S***I on 27 April 2026* Brilliant book for understanding how to experience life. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fresh thinking for modern life. *by S***Y on 16 August 2012* Alan Watts was one of the great popularisers of 'eastern' thinking in the west. This 1951 classic is probably an excellent starting point for anyone wanting an introduction to Watts' writing. Even though this book is well over 60 years old, it remains an extremely timely read, and it is surprisingly fresh in both its approach and thinking. Watts' starting point is the predicament of western man in the mid twentieth century; the book is definitely a product of 'you've never had it so good' 1950's materialism. Watts was one of the first people to detect the spiritual emptiness that many people feel in modern society (in spite of rising living standards and longevity) and in this book he proposes, if not a cure for this feeling of emptiness, then at least a new way of looking at things. Watts also shows how scientific scepticism has undermined the belief in God. Watts sums up this stance perfectly: 'If, the scientists would say, you believe in God, you must do so on purely emotional grounds, without basis in logic or fact.' Needless to say such scepticism has grown inordinately since Watts wrote these words and it has perhaps reached its zenith in recent years with the 'New Atheist' movement. This scientific viewpoint has made the belief in the Christian God untenable for many western people, and it is to such an audience that Watts aims his writing. There are so many pithy statements in this book; every page seems to contain a phrase or sentence that just leaps out at you and I love Watts' distinction between faith and belief: 'belief clings while faith lets go.' You could certainly see similarities between Watts' writing in this book and the work of J. Krishnamurti in such books as 'The First and Last Freedom.' (1954) Watts and Krishnamurti also share similiar preoccupations with 'the thought and the thinker,' the burden of selfhood and the nature of time and its role in creating psychology insecurity. In spite of these similarities, however, Watts' fascinating blend of eastern and western thinking and his own distinctive turn of phrase give him a memorable voice all of his own. In summary an excellent and influential book. Many modern writers have taken many of the ideas that Watts first set out in English all those years ago and taken them mainstream but, for me, Watts is the original and the best. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Are you so future focused that your life is slipping past? *by A***L on 26 August 2018* We fail to live because we are always preparing to live - sometime in the future. We base what we want on our experiences in the past because, after all, that's the best prediction of what we will like in the future. Watts feels many religions are equally obsessed with the future (eternal life in Heaven) and the past (dogma handed down over the generations). However, he writes: 'there is no reality than present reality, so that, even if one were to live for endless ages, to live for the future would be to miss the point everlastingly.' However, the problem is more deep seated. We are anxious not only because we are not living in the eternal now but because we think there is a separate I. We are not certain where this I lives: in our heads, our bodies but we are certain there is a I and everybody else is you. But Watts believes there is just one of us and this one includes the flowers, plants, animals and everything. I've comes across this idea before but Watts has a new spin: we 'reach a point where what is unknown is not a mere blank space in a web of words but a window in the mind, a window whose name is not ignorance but wonder.' Unfortunately. most of us are too timid to open the window, we close ourselves down with repetition. distraction and addiction. But once we open up to wonder, see the connections between everything, we will no longer be the anxious I desperately trying to feel OK. At least this is what I think is Watts case, I certainly buy the beauty of the eternal now. This book filled me with wonder. I guess I am just too trapped in I (but love the few moments when the division has melted away). ## Frequently Bought Together - The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety - The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are - The Way of Zen --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sn/products/771032608-the-wisdom-of-insecurity-a-message-for-an-age-anxiety](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/771032608-the-wisdom-of-insecurity-a-message-for-an-age-anxiety) --- *Product available on Desertcart Senegal* *Store origin: SN* *Last updated: 2026-06-02*