I would like to clarify that by posting a picture of an Alan Watts quote and linking an audio clip of him talking I was in no way implying that people should "believe in" him nor follow him/his words (and others like him) as "leaders". I personally do not vibe with a lot of what I have heard from that Alan Watts guy, but in this case, some of what he said was aligned with truth, and so I shared it above. People can share 25% truth and 75% bs, and the 25% may still be worth learning from (in some cases). I try not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I have felt similar frustrations to what you express with philosopher quoting (12 hours a day social media dwelling) types (and the philosophers themselves in some instances) in that many words are typed, much lip service is given, and yet in many cases, the rubber never meets the road and the words (though seemingly full of meaning and truth) become hollow and meaningless, when they are not backed by actions.

I have also met some people that do express powerful truths, beautiful poetry and insightful abstract perspectives that are backed by real life everyday actions (which brings even more meaning and beauty into their words, because you can see them living by them, and not just speaking them). Those second type are few and far between, but I have encountered a handful. Sometimes I have also witnessed people that are of little words but very courageous in their actions that tell me they were moved to choose to make a bold choice to resist tyranny or embark on a risky endeavor (which could benefit many in their community) because they were inspired by one philosopher or another.

So, I feel like it is also worth taking into account the fact that even some of those purely talking philosophers (that do not do much physically themselves to change the world) can send out ripple effects that become actions manifested in other people's lives. In this time of digital hyper-stimulation and AI algorithms pumping the most horrifying, upsetting and depressing material onto our feeds to instigate outrage (and elicit clicks) sometimes those more subtle ripple effects of small courageous, compassionate and/or rebellious actions locally (where people take action via the inspiration of another's words) can be drowned out in the flashing, vibrating, pulsating mass of fear and death being projected at us through smart phones and computers, but those ripples do matter, they change things and improve lives (IMO).

That said, even though I do think that words of wisdom from humble knowledge keepers, elders and visionaries can provide meaningful ripples into the world (through motivating others to take action and send out slow motion regenerative, healing and courage based actions ripple effects) I would say that the person that not only speaks words of truth, but also engages in actions that speak for those same truths in and of themselves is 10 - 100 times as potent in the ripple effects they send out into the world.

I also think that objects and artforms that are both practical and exemplify a distilled essence of a lens of perception (such as the art of Kintsugi or the art form of co-creating a forest that feeds humans and non-humans alike) are forms of expressing philosophy that are more powerful than any amount of words. An old growth food forest that is the result of a lifetime of work on the part of one individual (which is gifted onward to multiple future generations) is the living essence of a philosophy that is capable of seeding into hearts and minds and spreading outwardly (without any words being required).

In my book (and in other posts such as my post on Spiritual Autodidacticism gavinmounsey.substack.c… , my post on Why Involuntary Governance Structures are Not Compatible with The Permaculture Ethical Compass gavinmounsey.substack.c… and my post on Scars of the Heart as Maps for the Soul gavinmounsey.substack.c… ) I stated variations of the following:

There is no elected official, institution, politician, guru, priest, revolutionary, savior or any other external force or individual who can do this for you. Engaging in life on Earth is a voluntary journey that each of us chose willingly. The Creator of all things respects our choice to be here and our free will. We did not come here to see a dramatic dualistic showdown happen and applaud the ‘good guy' for vanquishing the bad guy (from a distance as a spectator). No, each and every one of us (whether we are currently consciously aware of this fact or not) came here to co-author the story. That means no-one else is going to do the hard work for us (not a savior, guru, rebel leader nor a politician) we came here to do that work of transforming this world ourselves.

So, I personally would not consider myself as a "believer" in or "follower" of any particular 'guru', or other human 'leader', but rather, a man that has faith in the sovereignty, unique gifts and inherent truths that are instilled into each being on Earth. I see my fellow beings as teachers, no better or lesser than me, each offering truth and some offering friction of different perspectives which I can use to hone and sharpen the blade of my mind.

Always a pleasure when you drop by!

(PS - those Melon seedlings that I grew from the seeds you sent me are doing great! I am seeing melon smoothies and melon mead on the summer horizon ;) )