--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A living body is not a fixed thing, but a…" description: "\"A living body is not a fixed thing, but a flowing event, like a flame or a whirlpool.\" — Alan Watts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/alan-watts-587_body_a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a_1097451.jpg" --- # A living body is not a fixed thing, but a flowing event… ![“A living body is not a fixed thing, but a flowing event, like a flame or a whirlpool.” quote by Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/alan-watts-587_body_a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a_1097451.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/alan-watts-587_body_a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a_1097451.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/alan-watts-587_body_a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a_1097451.jpg) > “A living body is not a fixed thing, but a flowing event, like a flame or a whirlpool.” [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human existence is fluid, constantly changing like fire or water, rather than a static object. **In simple terms:** Life is a flowing event, not a fixed thing. Key Takeaway Embrace change as natural. Themes philosophy impermanence identity Mood tranquil reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - mindfulness meditation - creative arts - personal development - spiritual counseling Key Concepts fluidity event transformation Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay grounded amid constant change? - What practices help you accept impermanence? A Different Perspective Change can be unsettling for those seeking stability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Flame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flame/) [Flowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowing/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Whirlpools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whirlpools/) ## Related quotes > [A living body is not a fixed thing but a flowing event, like a flame or a whirlpool: the shape alone is stable, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a-flowing-event-like-a-flame-2/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [“How I wish I was like the water, Flowing so freely with every drop Let my every emotion wonder, No need to start, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-kalyana-mittata-iordache/how-i-wish-i-was-like-the-water-flowing-so-freely-with-every-drop-let/) [Virgil Kalyana Mittata Iordache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-kalyana-mittata-iordache/) > [“Flowing like water through the fires of life, Touching the earth through waves of light Reaching for air when you're tired to fight Extinguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-kalyana-mittata-iordache/flowing-like-water-through-the-fires-of-life-touching-the-earth/) [Virgil Kalyana Mittata Iordache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-kalyana-mittata-iordache/) > [“It looked like precisely the sort of place where a living body might go if it wanted to become a dead one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ritter/it-looked-like-precisely-the-sort-of-place-where-a-living-body-might/) [William Ritter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ritter/) > [“If you can be aware that you have a living body, and notice when there's tension in your body, that's already an important insight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/if-you-can-be-aware-that-you-have-a-living-body-and-notice-when-there/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [The # cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-cosmos-is-a-vast-living-body-of-which-we-are-still-parts/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The living body is intelligent beyond our understanding; it is incomprehensibly intelligent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-diamond/the-living-body-is-intelligent-beyond-our-understanding-it-is/) Harvey Diamond > [Every city is a living body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/every-city-is-a-living-body/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The symbols of the self arise in the depths of the body, and they express its materiality every bit as much as the perceiving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-symbols-of-the-self-arise-in-the-depths-of-the-body-and-they/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Real isn't what they try to tell you. Time isn't. Grown-ups hammer down all these markers, bells, schedules, coffee-breaks, to stake down time so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/real-isn-t-what-they-try-to-tell-you-time-isn-t-grown-ups-hammer-down/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [We are travelers on a cosmic journey,stardust,swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-are-travelers-on-a-cosmic-journey-stardust-swirling-and-dancing-in/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I felt like high school for me was like a big whirlpool of me trying to figure out what was OK for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-glover/i-felt-like-high-school-for-me-was-like-a-big-whirlpool-of-me-trying/) [Donald Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-glover/) > [ \[Footnote:\] Pliny the Elder described a Whale called "Balaena or Whirlpool, which is so long and broad as to take up more in length… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/footnote-pliny-the-elder-described-a-whale-called-balaena-or/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [Many women don’t know what orgasm is. Many men don’t know was total orgasm is. Many only achieve a local orgasm, a genital orgasm;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-women-don-t-know-what-orgasm-is-many-men-don-t-know-was-total/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Silence? What can New York-noisy, roaring, rumbling, tumbling, bustling, story, turbulent New York-have to do with silence? Amid the universal clatter, the incessant din…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/silence-what-can-new-york-noisy-roaring-rumbling-tumbling-bustling/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) ## More by Alan Watts > [“The self-conscious feedback mechanism of the cortex allows us the hallucination that we are two souls in one body -a rational soul and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-self-conscious-feedback-mechanism-of-the-cortex-allows-us-the/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it becomes. It is like trying to clutch water in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-more-we-try-to-catch-hold-of-the-present-moment-the-more-elusive/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The Universe is the game of the self, which plays hide and seek forever and ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-universe-is-the-game-of-the-self-which-plays-hide-and-seek/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/if-my-happiness-at-this-moment-consists-largely-in-reviewing-happy/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [...mysticism and empiricism go together in opposition to scholasticism...they base themselves on the non-linear world of experience rather than the linear world of letters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/mysticism-and-empiricism-go-together-in-opposition-to-scholasticism/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The hallucination of being a separate ego will not stand up to biological tests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-hallucination-of-being-a-separate-ego-will-not-stand-up-to/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Although profoundly "inconsequential," the Zen experience has consequences in the sense that it may be applied in any direction, to any conceivable human activity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/although-profoundly-inconsequential-the-zen-experience-has/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Everything is perpetually becoming new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/everything-is-perpetually-becoming-new/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The psychotherapist ... tries to help the individual to be himself and to go it alone without giving unnecessary offense to his community, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-psychotherapist-tries-to-help-the-individual-to-be-himself-and-to/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [“As you make more and more powerful microscopic instruments, the universe has to get smaller and smaller in order to escape the investigation. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/as-you-make-more-and-more-powerful-microscopic-instruments-the/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [We are at the moment looking at space as something to be entered by the tremendous thrust of a rocket because that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-are-at-the-moment-looking-at-space-as-something-to-be-entered-by/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [A philosopher is a sort of intellectual yokel who gawks at things that sensible people take for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-philosopher-is-a-sort-of-intellectual-yokel-who-gawks-at-things/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The best way to convince someone is by making him realize that what you speak came from his own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-best-way-to-convince-someone-is-by-making-him-realize-that-what/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The myths underlying our culture and underlying our common sense have not taught us to feel identical with the universe, but only parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-myths-underlying-our-culture-and-underlying-our-common-sense-have/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [To feel that life is meaningless unless “I” can be permanent is like having fallen desperately in love with an inch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/to-feel-that-life-is-meaningless-unless-i-can-be-permanent-is-like/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) [Explore all 460 Alan Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A living body is not a fixed thing, but a flowing event, like a flame or a whirlpool.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Watts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a-flowing-event-like-a-flame/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Body" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a-flowing-event-like-a-flame/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/alan-watts-587_body_a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a_1097451.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/alan-watts-587_body_a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a_1097451.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/761/alan-watts-587_body_a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a_1097451.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A living body is not a fixed thing, but a flowing event, like a flame or a whirlpool.” — Alan Watts", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Watts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A living body is not a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a-flowing-event-like-a-flame/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-living-body-is-not-a-fixed-thing-but-a-flowing-event-like-a-flame/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```