The First Basic Reason for Meditation

Now, obviously, is I talk all the time,
I don't hear what anyone else has to say.
And so, in exactly the same way, if I think
all the time - that is to say, if I talk to myself
all the time - I don't have anything to think
about except thoughts. And therefore,
I'm living entirely in the world of symbols,
and am never in relationship with reality.
That's the first basic reason for meditation.

Alan Watts