Not All Who Wander Are Lost
I discovered Jack Kerouac at an important crossroads in my life. I’ve always believed that life runs in cycles, and I find myself once again at an important crossroads seeking a new definition of truth and freedom. The unrestrained rhythm I found in Kerouac’s words gave me hope. Perhaps it was possible to find meaning in this chaotic world. And maybe it’s even okay to repeat your journey because the answers you had previously arrived at have become null and void. For these reasons I’ve decided to choose Kerouac’s Dharma Bums as my current favorite book.
While reading Dharma Bums, I found it easy to let myself fill the main character’s shoes as he crisscrossed America in search of what it all means. Ray Smith’s adventures, facilitated by hopping trains and hitchhiking from one place to the next, seem daring and impossible by today’s standards. Even so, they still embody the innate desire to understand why we are here and the refusal to blindly accept society’s idea of how we should live.
I admire many things about Ray’s character. He has guts. He fearlessly makes his way in the world and is excited to discover all that is unknown to him. As a practicing Buddhist, Ray feels very strongly about the principles of compassion and simplicity, and strives to live by them. By carrying few possessions and giving away what little he has, he discovers how few material things are required for happiness. Ray Smith truly practices what he preaches, while remaining human and accessible to readers.
As we often find when embarking upon a life journey, not everyone can comprehend our need to make sense of the world around us or the ways in which we attempt to connect all of the dots. On a trip home to North Carolina, Ray learns that his family is struggling to understand both his travels and his Buddhist faith. But he finds that he loves his family very much despite their complete misunderstanding of him. After returning to California to live with a friend in a small shack, companionship with like-minded individuals empowers Ray to continue his quest.
True to life, the characters Ray meets along the way both help him on his journey and bring out the worst in him. His friend Japhy Ryder, also a practicing Buddhist, proves to be a guide of sorts. His character represents balance between our spiritual self and our physical self. Japhy’s strong Buddhist beliefs are manifested in his life as a whole, but his humanity returns to show that perhaps moderation is the key to everything. He allows himself to find pleasure in women and alcohol, two things Ray constantly struggles with. Eventually Japhy tires of his worldly behaviors and seeks retreat in a Japanese monastery, completely removing himself from the tempting situations. He found a way out that seemed sensible, which is something I often find myself doing. Making sense of running away isn’t as hard as it would seem.
After Japhy leaves him, Ray also finds a way out of the tempting situations that test his resilience as a Buddhist. He spends the summer as a fire lookout on Desolation Peak in the mountains of California. After battling nature, the elements, and his loneliness, he eventually concludes that there is absolutely nothing in the world for him to worry about. All is well with the world.
The idea of taking a journey specifically for self-discovery is intriguing. Instead of taking Kerouac’s story of the Dharma Bums as a literal suggestion to take a physical journey to find myself in the world, I apply it to the metaphor that compares life to a journey. Ray Smith, a loosely disguised Jack Kerouac, is an inspiration. He is a free-spirit unwilling to settle for what life hands him, destined to forge his own path and understand it all in his own time.
Permission to Over-Analyze 