So what exactly can I say about a classic that was first printed over 50 years ago and was credited in part to starting a revolution of sorts? Well I can say it was everything and it was nothing. Ha ha! Yes I have stolen a line from the book The Dharma Bums but I can assure you I have not attained such enlightenment as our young Bhikku. I definitely came away from reading the book with a greater sense of my place in the world. It really is a meaningless place when it comes right down to it. I will return to the Earth as I was born unto it one day. I believe that was the meaning behind the phrase it is everything and nothing. No matter what element we are in, the essential atoms and framework of our surroundings are the same but only shaped differently.
The Dharma Bums was definitely a terrific read at this time in my life. Had I read it at age 24 after reading On the Road, I might have actually turned to the road again and my life would definitely be different. I read On the Road when I started a journey across the States and it had an impact on me then. But I was caught up in my new life and didn't read the next in line.
I love how Jack Kerouac writes in the easy reading style like you are sitting together and talking or listening to his story. Enlightenment can be a different meaning to many but for me it is just the beginning. Thanks to a good friend Caris O'Malley, author of The Egg Said Nothing, I took the opportunity to read this rather than putting it on my list of to read.
My path to enlightenment has now begun thanks to Jack Kerouac writing of his life over 50 years ago. And no I have no plans on buying a rucksack and hitching. Hiking yes. Meditation yes. Read this book no matter what your religion and you will come away with a greater sense of our small world and how we all fit into the puzzle.
The Dharma Bums was definitely a terrific read at this time in my life. Had I read it at age 24 after reading On the Road, I might have actually turned to the road again and my life would definitely be different. I read On the Road when I started a journey across the States and it had an impact on me then. But I was caught up in my new life and didn't read the next in line.
I love how Jack Kerouac writes in the easy reading style like you are sitting together and talking or listening to his story. Enlightenment can be a different meaning to many but for me it is just the beginning. Thanks to a good friend Caris O'Malley, author of The Egg Said Nothing, I took the opportunity to read this rather than putting it on my list of to read.
My path to enlightenment has now begun thanks to Jack Kerouac writing of his life over 50 years ago. And no I have no plans on buying a rucksack and hitching. Hiking yes. Meditation yes. Read this book no matter what your religion and you will come away with a greater sense of our small world and how we all fit into the puzzle.
Update: My friend Caris is on a deadline to sell 200 copies of his book, The Egg Said Nothing (see link above). It is only $10 bucks and reads like you were driving an old jalopy up Wolf Creek Pass, Co in the 1930's and every hairpin turn was as terrifying as the first. But you do make it to the top, a bit scared and over-whelmed but relieved nonetheless. His publisher will publish him again if we help him out. I expect the next one to be just as interesting as this one, only scarier.
ReplyDeleteUpdate: The other day I recieved an email from my brother about this post. I was pleased with what he said to me and surprised to learn he had given me my copy of On the Road. I had totally forgotten this as I have many other things about my past. I'm happy to know ir was because of him I read Kerouac. It was because of him I read Vonnegut for the first time and many others. Thanks bro!
ReplyDelete