Alan Watts
That’s The Way It Goes
Take the contrast between the words we use
Explicit and implicit
They’re very valuable words
What is explicit, what’s on the outside, that’s, say, how we come on publically
Explicitly we are thus and so. We have a fight
We’re in competition, say, in business, explicitly
But implicitly, we’ve worked this out
We’ve agreed, in a secret way that nobody knows about, that this competition is extremely valuable to both of us
Take it politically, for example
Let’s take the situation of Russia versus the United States
Explicitly, in public, this has to be a big fight
These two ways of life, these two ideologies, are opposed
They say, “Brrrrrraaaagh,” you know?
But behind the scenes it’s all been carefully worked out
You bet it has
That this opposition has to happen because our economy depends on it, and their economy depends on it, and everybody knows this who’s smart
But there are a lot of people who get taken in by the propaganda, and they should be taken in, because that makes the thing work

[Chorus]
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes

And everything works this way
When swans start to mate, they’re not sure what they’re supposed to do, and they begin to fight
I had a long talk about this with C. G. Jung
He lived on the edge of Lake Zürich, and he had a little summer house right on the water’s edge, and there were many swans there
And I was getting up after the end of a conversation with him
And we were beginning to walk back to the main house, and I said, “Isn’t it true that swans are monogamous?”
And he said, “Yes, they are.” He said, “Do you know, I have had most interesting relationships between these swans and many of my female patients who thought they were homosexual.”
And Jung wasn’t a sexual snob – I mean, he understood all the legitimacy of all kinds of sexual variations
But he said, “It has been a point of departure for our discussions”
And he said, “It’s a very funny thing that, when they begin to mate, they start fighting. And they don’t know what it’s all about, and then, suddenly, the fight turns into lovemaking.”
So that’s what I mean
Underneath opposition there is love
Underneath duality there’s unity
That Tweedledum and Tweedledee agreed to have a battle
[Chorus]
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes

See, here’s that weaving principle
That things hold together by over-under, under-over, over-under, under-over, over-under, under-over
And that creates a stuff, it creates a fabric, it creates clothing, it creates shelter, it creates what we call matter
Matter – Mater – Mother
And also, the same word, māyā, “illusion.”
See? The world as a marvelous illusion

[Chorus]
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes
It’s crazy, but that’s the way it goes

A marvelous illusion
A marvelous illusion
A marvelous illusion
A marvelous illusion