--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For there is a growing apprehension that…" description: "\"“For there is a growing apprehension that existence is a rat-race in a trap: living organisms, including people,are merely tubes which put things in at..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/198/alan-watts-587_life_for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that_1712197.jpg" --- # For there is a growing apprehension that existence is a… ![“For there is a growing apprehension that existence is a rat-race in a trap: living organisms, including people,are merely tubes which put things in at one end and let them out at the other, which both keeps them doing it and in the long run wears them out. So to keep the farce going, the tubes…” quote by Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/198/alan-watts-587_life_for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that_1712197.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/198/alan-watts-587_life_for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that_1712197.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/198/alan-watts-587_life_for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that_1712197.jpg) > ““For there is a growing apprehension that existence is a rat-race in a trap: living organisms, including people,are merely tubes which put things in at one end and let them out at the other, which both keeps them doing it and in the long run wears them out. So to keep the farce going, the tubes find ways of making new tubes, which also put things in at one end and let them out at the other. At the input end they even develop ganglia of nerves called brains, with eyes and ears, so that they can more easily scrounge around for things to swallow. As and when they get enough to eat, they use up their surplus energy by wiggling in complicated patterns, making all sorts of noises by blowing air in and out of the input hole, and gathering together in groups to fight with other groups. In time, the tubes grow such an abundance of attached appliances that they are hardly recognizable as mere tubes, and they manage to do this in a staggering variety of forms. There is a vague rule not to eat tubes of your own form, but in general there is serious competition as to who is going to be the top type of tube. All this seems marvelously futile, and yet, when you begin to think about it, it begins to be more marvelous than futile. Indeed, it seems extremely odd.”” [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 life is portrayed as a perpetual, self‑reinforcing cycle of consumption and competition, appearing futile yet oddly wondrous when contemplated. **In simple terms:** Life is a repetitive cycle of taking in and expelling, seeming pointless but also fascinating. Key Takeaway Recognize the pattern and seek meaning beyond the routine. Themes existential competition meaning cycle futility Mood reflective thoughtful critical Type philosophical observational inspirational When to use this quote - daily work - consumer habits - social media - political campaigns - environmental impact Key Concepts philosophy systems theory biological metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing this cycle change your daily choices? - Can you find purpose within apparent futility? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex social and biological processes, ignoring agency and cooperation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gathering together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gathering-together/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [For there is a growing apprehension that existence is a rat-race in a trap: living organisms, including people, are merely tubes which put things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that-existence-is-a-rat-race-in-a-3/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [“For there is a growing apprehension that existence is a rat-race in a trap: living organisms, including people, are merely tubes which put things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that-existence-is-a-rat-race-in-a/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“DECEMBER 28 HAPPY WITH WHAT WE HAVE I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-robertson/december-28-happy-with-what-we-have-i-have-learned-to-be-content/) [Alan Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-robertson/) > [“The burning off and the gathering together are one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-marshall-stoneking-2/the-burning-off-and-the-gathering-together-are-one/) Billy Marshall-Stoneking > [“It was easy enough to see why God, having called the dry land "Earth" and the gathering together of the waters "the Seas," saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/it-was-easy-enough-to-see-why-god-having-called-the-dry-land-earth/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [That is always our problem, not how to get control of people, but how all together we can get control of a situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-parker-follett/that-is-always-our-problem-not-how-to-get-control-of-people-but-how/) [Mary Parker Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-parker-follett/) > [This truth of the gathering together of God's children is in Scripture seen realised in various localities, and in each central locality the Christians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-nelson-darby/this-truth-of-the-gathering-together-of-god-s-children-is-in/) [John Nelson Darby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-nelson-darby/) > [I'm a great believer in gathering together all your obsessions and seeing if you can make a novel out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/i-m-a-great-believer-in-gathering-together-all-your-obsessions-and/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [For as the aged, or those whose sight is defective, when any book, however fair, is set before them, though they perceive that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/for-as-the-aged-or-those-whose-sight-is-defective-when-any-book/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/for-man-autumn-is-a-time-of-harvest-of-gathering-together-for-nature/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [When 'I' replaced with 'We', even the illness becomes wellness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/when-i-replaced-with-we-even-the-illness-becomes-wellness/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“The Book I am thinking about would not be religious in the usual sense, but it would have to discuss many things with which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/the-book-i-am-thinking-about-would-not-be-religious-in-the-usual/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [“It’s fairly intuitive that never exploring is no way to live. But it’s also worth mentioning that never exploiting can be every bit as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/it-s-fairly-intuitive-that-never-exploring-is-no-way-to-live-but-it-s/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“They were...no ordinary group, gathering together to kill an evening, to seek refuge from critical husbands and demanding children while idly discussing their new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-goldreich/they-were-no-ordinary-group-gathering-together-to-kill-an-evening-to/) Gloria Goldreich > [I wanted the press to become something of a movement. Not a movement committed to a particular 'ism', but a gathering together of writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-metcalf/i-wanted-the-press-to-become-something-of-a-movement-not-a-movement/) John Metcalf ## 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 Gathering together quotes > [I wanted the press to become something of a movement. Not a movement committed to a particular 'ism', but a gathering together of writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-metcalf/i-wanted-the-press-to-become-something-of-a-movement-not-a-movement/) John Metcalf > [“They were...no ordinary group, gathering together to kill an evening, to seek refuge from critical husbands and demanding children while idly discussing their new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-goldreich/they-were-no-ordinary-group-gathering-together-to-kill-an-evening-to/) Gloria Goldreich > [“It’s fairly intuitive that never exploring is no way to live. But it’s also worth mentioning that never exploiting can be every bit as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/it-s-fairly-intuitive-that-never-exploring-is-no-way-to-live-but-it-s/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [“The Book I am thinking about would not be religious in the usual sense, but it would have to discuss many things with which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/the-book-i-am-thinking-about-would-not-be-religious-in-the-usual/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [When 'I' replaced with 'We', even the illness becomes wellness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/when-i-replaced-with-we-even-the-illness-becomes-wellness/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/for-man-autumn-is-a-time-of-harvest-of-gathering-together-for-nature/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [For as the aged, or those whose sight is defective, when any book, however fair, is set before them, though they perceive that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/for-as-the-aged-or-those-whose-sight-is-defective-when-any-book/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [I'm a great believer in gathering together all your obsessions and seeing if you can make a novel out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/i-m-a-great-believer-in-gathering-together-all-your-obsessions-and/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [This truth of the gathering together of God's children is in Scripture seen realised in various localities, and in each central locality the Christians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-nelson-darby/this-truth-of-the-gathering-together-of-god-s-children-is-in/) [John Nelson Darby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-nelson-darby/) > [That is always our problem, not how to get control of people, but how all together we can get control of a situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-parker-follett/that-is-always-our-problem-not-how-to-get-control-of-people-but-how/) [Mary Parker Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-parker-follett/) > [“It was easy enough to see why God, having called the dry land "Earth" and the gathering together of the waters "the Seas," saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/it-was-easy-enough-to-see-why-god-having-called-the-dry-land-earth/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [“The burning off and the gathering together are one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-marshall-stoneking-2/the-burning-off-and-the-gathering-together-are-one/) Billy Marshall-Stoneking > [“DECEMBER 28 HAPPY WITH WHAT WE HAVE I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-robertson/december-28-happy-with-what-we-have-i-have-learned-to-be-content/) [Alan Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-robertson/) > [A great barbecue to me is all about abundance and gathering together!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andi-oliver/a-great-barbecue-to-me-is-all-about-abundance-and-gathering-together/) [Andi Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andi-oliver/) > [ “Elisha the prophet. For when his fellow-prophets were hewing wood for the construction of a tabernacle, and when the iron \[head\], shaken loose from… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/elisha-the-prophet-for-when-his-fellow-prophets-were-hewing-wood-for/) The Church Fathers [Browse all 29 Gathering together quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gathering-together/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For there is a growing apprehension that existence is a rat-race in a trap: living organisms, including people,are merely tubes which put things in at one end and let them out at the other, which both keeps them doing it and in the long run wears them out. So to keep the farce going, the tubes find ways of making new tubes, which also put things in at one end and let them out at the other. At the input end they even develop ganglia of nerves called brains, with eyes and ears, so that they can more easily scrounge around for things to swallow. As and when they get enough to eat, they use up their surplus energy by wiggling in complicated patterns, making all sorts of noises by blowing air in and out of the input hole, and gathering together in groups to fight with other groups. In time, the tubes grow such an abundance of attached appliances that they are hardly recognizable as mere tubes, and they manage to do this in a staggering variety of forms. There is a vague rule not to eat tubes of your own form, but in general there is serious competition as to who is going to be the top type of tube. All this seems marvelously futile, and yet, when you begin to think about it, it begins to be more marvelous than futile. Indeed, it seems extremely odd.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Watts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that-existence-is-a-rat-race-in-a-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gathering together" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that-existence-is-a-rat-race-in-a-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/198/alan-watts-587_life_for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that_1712197.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/198/alan-watts-587_life_for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that_1712197.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/198/alan-watts-587_life_for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that_1712197.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For there is a growing apprehension that existence is a rat-race in a trap: living organisms, including…” — 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": "“For there is a growing apprehension...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that-existence-is-a-rat-race-in-a-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/for-there-is-a-growing-apprehension-that-existence-is-a-rat-race-in-a-2/#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 } } ] } ```