We're winding down with our series of posts showing which passages from The Dharma Bums and On The Road inspired the 100 entries in The Beat Handbook. Only 15 to go.
The above passage inspired Day 84, titled, "On Unconditional Love." In it, I suggest doing some research on what Carl Rogers said about sunsets, or what Krishnamurti had to say about measuring love and thereby destroying it. Find someone who lets you be who you are, and do the same. I'm not suggesting being a doormat, or ignoring your own needs, but I am suggesting that we all realize that no one makes us happy or sad, that love is more than a feeling, that commitment really does mean taking the good with the bad (because we all have both), and that allowing your partner to be who they are and vice versa is pretty damn important. No, I wouldn't be thrilled if Crystal sauntered in at 3 AM with a bunch of loud, drunk friends and proceeded to talk and drink till dawn. But I hope I would empathize with how that behavior met important needs of hers, for connection and fun and what-have-you. If I didn't want to join in, and I needed my sleep, there's always the camper and my nice warm sleeping bag. Jack would approve.
Be who you are! The world needs you to do that.
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