21st Century Beatniks

21st century Beatniks are emerging again and I hope to help inspire a resurrection of the BEAT.

What is a modern day BEAT??

A modern day beatnik is a musician, an artist a poet who is not constricted by the binds of societies chains. We don't need television and we care about our planet. We are hip hop and jazz, country and blues we are not pop. We enjoy talking and communicating rather than listening to our IPOD. We enjoy creating and we find ways to create whenever possible. We are not snobs and do not think we are better than anyone else. A 21st century beatnik embraces all music and is not bound by one style. Some of us sleep in a house and others in a bag in the mountains. There is usually someone with a guitar around. We are driven by our dreams and refuse to accept any less. We are generally happy people and we don't litter. We trust life and are confident doing the things we love and accepting whatever our talents may provide for us.

We don't believe the world is getting worse, on the contrary, we believe it is getting better. We are original and we do not hold to the past or dwell on the future. We focus on the moment and do the best we can NOW, in this moment, enjoying today at all times. We embrace failure and accept it as a factor in the growth process. We believe in magic. We are comfortable in the dirtiest of places and we share with everyone we can. We are intelligent and kind and there is usually a smile on our faces!

Last night I spent the entire night on the beach talking with friends about how genuinely happy we are to be doing the things we love! When people turn up there noses to us we smile and offer kind words, and sometimes we trip them and tell them to fuck off! Some of us have been on TV and others have been published and books, some are on your mp3 players. We enjoy all of the things that the wealthy do, yet we pay far less for that experience.

So many people want to do the things that a modern day beatnik does. Drop off of the grid and live off the land with the critters, yet many are afraid to do so! Not everyone who is not "beat" is unhappy, but a lot are.

We are confident but are not cocky, kind but not weak and no matter how old we are we are young! We are the opitomy of street, but we are educated! We know how to survive in the most difficult situations and flourish and we are a growing number around the U.S.

There was once a time in history where people were discovered dirty and struggling on the streets of Hollywood, New Orleans and the Village in Manhattan. Nowadays it seems that most of the people performing on the streets are only interested in getting some change for a beer and not in sharpening their skills. A long time has passed since Jack Kerouac was on the cover of "Vanity Fair" but beware!! We are focused and we are having fun and we are not buckling to the pressures of society. There is a coming together of like minds in our culture right now. We are the people who will be the leaders of tomorrow and we are young, we are wired and we are motivated.

Judge us if you would like, turn up your nose when we walk down your streets with our smiles and the tools of our craft! While your life is flying by, every day is an adventure to us and we do not really on YOU or on STUFF for our happiness! We are truly happy.

We are BEAT!

~~~~ 1 Love

~~~~~~tilly