Whispers on a Shell-Strewn Shore: Prickly Wisdom, Gooey Grace 貝殻散る浜辺の囁き――とげの叡智ととろける恩寵

My dear Substack Village:

Free expression is a liberating, beautiful experience. Lately, though, I have felt discouraged by what I can only describe as the weaving worm of darkness called “expert criticism.”

My own creative path; becoming a funnel for Universal expression, since none of what I create is truly mine; it comes from the Beloved and returns to the Beloved, feels like walking the seashore, gathering shells that catch my eye, then arranging them in ways that please me. I am not trying to open a portal that summons ancient sages or unveils a hidden cosmic secret. For me, everything is sacred; everything speaks beauty and Universal truth.

Because of this awareness, I tend to balk at judgment and criticism. It is not that I fear critique of my own work; I see holy, soul-spirit essence in all things, but I wince when people in our village slip into the passive-aggressive habit of seeking to validate others through critique. Ironically, I become judgmental of the judgmental. Perhaps this is my empathy, my inner protector, rising whenever I witness such behavior. I feel the same in other circles. Frustration wells up because I view each expression as emanating from the Source itself, and I cannot bear to close a window that offers a fresh glimpse of the Universe through a unique soul. I weep at the thought of anyone recoiling from sharing their love because they feel judged.

Enough of that. This is simply my archetypal response: to help the unheard be heard, the unseen be seen, and the unloved be loved.

My mentor and fellow explorer Alan Watts said it best:

“The prickly people are tough-minded, rigorous, and precise, but they have no patience for blurs.

The gooey people are gentle, soft, and inclusive, but they can be sloppy and sentimental.

Both are necessary, because reality itself has both prickly and gooey aspects.”

(Alan Watts, The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are)*

Watts was not mocking anyone. He pointed to something deeper: life is a dance between sharpness and softness, clarity and blur. Some lean into precision, others into connection, yet neither side alone captures the whole. Both textures are needed to know the fullness of being. His playful reminder is that the weave of existence requires the tough and the tender alike.

Whenever I read Alan, I marvel at how fully he embraced the yin and yang of it all. The Universe is revealed best when every aspect, angle, and veil is explored; gently or forcefully, depending on our roles. We need the prickly and the gooey. Their presence proves that reality calls for both.

So I love them all. If my affinity for gooeyness shines a bit too brightly, remember: championing gooey expression does not mean I oppose the prickly. I need those prickly ones to balance my gooey awesomeness.

Alan’s reminder echoes today: when the stage is set and the players take their parts, gooey and prickly intertwine. Reality is gooey prickles and prickly goo, created by all of us together in this village we call Universe.

A toast, then, to the prickly; who keep us sharp and on our toes. A toast to the gooey; who test the patience of the prickly and invite them to peer beyond the veil. And a toast to our happily dysfunctional village, which, even amid debate and difference, pours forth Universal beauty and majestic insight.

I love you all for reincarnating our Beloved, for giving of yourselves as the beautiful, diverse, and necessary facets of our Source.

May this day

open a window,

a door, a portal.

May shyness melt away,

not because we fear nothing,

but because fear lends

a sweet, savory flavor.

Meet the moment,

knowing we need you;

your soul,

your art,

your voice.

As it is,

as it comes,

as it is,

as it was.

We are all beautiful, Universal, and loved.

Namaste.