All this time Dean was telling Marylou things like this: “Now, darling, here we are in New York and although I haven’t quite told you everything that I was thinking about when we crossed Missouri and especially at the point when we passed the Boon ville reformatory which reminded me of my jail problem, it is absolutely necessary now to postpone all those leftover things concerning our personal lovethings and at once begin thinking of specific worklife plans . . .” and so on in the way that he had in those early days.
I went to the cold-water flat with the boys, and Dean came to the door in his shorts. Marylou was jumping off the couch; Dean had dispatched the occupant of the apartment to the kitchen, probably to make coffee, while he proceeded with his love-problems, for to him sex was the one and only holy and important thing in life, although he had to sweat and curse to make a living and so on. You saw that in the way he stood bobbing his head, always looking down, nodding, like a young boxer to instructions, to make you think he was listening to every word, throwing in a thousand “Yeses” and “That’s rights.”
On The Road – Jack Kerouac
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The Unfulfillment of Pleasure
The character Dean in On The Road, published in 1957 by Jack Kerouac, has no mastery. He does not pursue any disciplined path in body, mind, or spirit. Instead, Dean pursues pleasure, which is impossible to fulfill, because pleasure cannot be fulfilled–unlike mastery.
Dean’s ultimate desire is to be on the road in a persistent search for pleasure. Driving from city to city, partying, chasing women, and sometimes getting lucky, while his doting Marylou waits at home for his return which is not guaranteed. He’s chasing the dragon that can never be caught, because the dragon is mythical, like the fulfillment of pleasure.
A relationship with two people dedicated to building a partnership has a path to mastery.
Andreia spirit tenet: Pleasure cannot be fulfilled so it must not be pursued.
Dean wants identity and purpose that can only come through fulfillment. He seeks fulfillment through pleasure which cannot be fulfilled like trying to quench a thirst with saltwater. There is no mastery associated with the pursuit of pleasure. You can never get enough pleasure because pleasure does not fulfill and you will not be rewarded for your pursuit.
Pleasure in large amounts is poison. A little sin here and there makes you stronger. The pursuit of sin is hell. Use pleasure as a respite from dutiful progress on the path.
The Danger of Sexual Obsession
It is dangerous to become obsessed with sex or pleasure of any kind. To walk the path of pleasure is to willingly walk into Hell because there is no path of pleasure; pleasure is a respite from the path, a rest stop for the weary who have EARNED their rest through loyalty to The Way.
Those who pursue pleasure of any kind walk the hedonistic(not hedonic)treadmill where you exist, and you have lived, but you never got anywhere.
Sexual obsession is a desire that cannot be fulfilled, because pleasure cannot grant fulfillment.
When we train and condition ourselves to pursue mastery in a given domain, we are put on a path toward fulfillment that gives us satiety of the spirit. Pleasure is like candy for the spirit; it can eat buckets worth, but it never feels full; the more candy the spirit eats, the sicker you become.
Too many reach for candy when they are sick.
A little candy is a nice treat and can be a good thing if used in the correct context.
Why pleasure is pursued
Pleasure is often used as a mechanism to avoid a responsibility you are carrying, like the responsibility of mastery and the path, or the avoidance of processing and overcoming a trauma that happened long ago.
Many pursue pleasure from a fear of failure because you cannot fail at pleasuring yourself. This is not to be viewed entirely from a sexual perspective. When you eat food you aren’t supposed to eat you are pleasuring yourself.
You can always pursue more pleasure–until you die. This applies to all pleasures: Overeating, promiscuousness, entertainment addiction, etc.
Every rite of passage is predicated on the adoption of responsibility.
Even if you don’t voluntarily adopt responsibility, responsibility will be placed upon you.
We advise choosing your own paths in body, mind, and spirit so you may pursue paths that you designate, as opposed to having them designated for you which can–but not always–result in suffering.
The pursuit of pleasure can never be fulfilled.
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2 comments
Another well done post. Thank you for taking the time to make these.
Thank you for the continued support!