The Lone Creative - Just a little story about my friendship with Dean Moriarty
Photo by Dean Moriarty
FALL INTO THE SKY
By Dean Moriarty
Lay back awhile;
Step out of your eyes,
And relax into your seeing;
This is a place for that:
Under the stars of beauty flow
Into the entrance of this dance,
Into the mystical abandon of the rhythm
Only your heart can hear
To forget,
So you can remember.
Deep star-drop sky, wondrous splendour
Timeless of the sand-sifter, drifting, warm and sigh;
Colours, sundown n sea, breeze and breezed
In joy, ecstatic energy, dancing, comforting;
Oh holy drifter, inspired angel
Subjectively shimmering in such silence;
That within, reflected: the beauty dust of it all...
Photo by Dean Moriarty
The Lone Creative
Just a little story about my friendship with Dean Moriarty
A few days ago I was commenting on a post written by @wakeupkitty, in which I expressed my admiration for the character of her writing style. If you have ever read any of her content you may know what I am referring to. It is often likely to go over the heads of most, as it is an approach to writing which is almost cryptic… a little like an abstract art piece, so I made mention to her that some may perceive it as “chaotic” for the simple reason - they do not quite grasp it.
This expression on my part was a compliment, not an insult. A very big compliment actually, because it is a special kind of talent that can write like this and I have only ever encountered a handful of people in my life who manage to pull it off successfully. One of those people is the reason I am writing this post.
Photo by Dean Moriarty
I promised @wakeupkitty that I would share a little bit of his story with all of you - some of the OG’s around here may even remember him.
Our friendship started in the comments section of a post and the details are a little blurry, but it wasn’t what I would describe as a friendly banter unfolding between the two of us. It was my first encounter with Dean Moriarty (better known as @wales) and though I cannot remember exactly why, I know he had rubbed me the wrong way - something to do with me being “full of hot air, like everyone else on the platform”, lol.
After a little back and forth in conversation, he made an apology for what he had said to me and for being so abrupt - explaining his battle with depression, which I was to discover eventually, was a very very real one.
Photo by Dean Moriarty
Creative expression through writing is such an incredibly personal journey - an art in itself and no different to traditional art in that respect. Every person has their own unique style, approach, method and message - and the freedom of choice in the “how” they wish to express themselves is entirely up to them.
Dean was not only a magnificent writer with something ridiculous like 40 books under his belt, but he was also an amazing photographer who shared his talent and travels with the whole world through his portfolio on Pixabay, which as it stands now in 2024 has had in excess of four million views and two million downloads. His photographic work was also featured by National Geographic. Go Dean!
But mostly, I think Dean was misunderstood and this made him very much a loner. Many people didn’t understand or appreciate his quirky character and this made him feel vulnerable, which caused him to retreat. I am grateful that I got to know him for a short time before he left us, and the impression he made on me as a writer and a friend will never be forgotten.
The time in which I got to know Dean was when I was running the SteemitBloggers community here on Steemit and Dean became such an intrinsic presence in our discord server that after his passing, one of the community members actually created a discord bot which continued to fill our space with his classic one liners which would mostly come out of the blue and have little or nothing to do with the topic at hand. In many instances, he would be talking to nobody but himself, as the server was completely empty.
Photo by @trystan
Dean was a free spirit, a wild soul and an incredibly wise and worldly traveller. We all shared in many of his memories, travels and experiences! We spent many an evening having really deep and heart filled conversations, sharing our music favourites and even attempting combined poetry, where he would write one line and I would write the next.
He brought whimsical fantasy into our everyday reality not only within our community but on the Steemit platform itself. Dean was an open book in completely poetic style and those of us that took the time to really get to know the magnificent man behind the words and photos, soon came to realise what a beautiful and unique soul he was. He was authentic to the core - a rarity in this world. He loved openly, wore his heart on his sleeve and always stood strong for the things that he was passionate about. Below is an excerpt from his last ever piece of writing, in true cryptic Dean style, was posted on the blockchain the day before he passed.
I have encountered a fair amount of criticism and judgement throughout my life because I have always been a bit of a square peg in a round hole. It is for this reason that I try not to judge others, but rather lean toward understanding them first.
Dean was definitely one of those individuals. He refused to fit into any sort of box or mould and whilst this annoyed or bored a lot of people - it intrigued me. Instead of flippantly disregarding him or his writing, I began taking the time to try and truly understand what it was that he was actually saying when he put pen to paper.
It did not take much digging or reading between the lines to realise that what he shared was anything but nonsense and that this man had a mind and heart filled with thought and emotions which ran as deep as the ocean.
Photo by Ivor Thomas Funerals
He wanted so desperately to feel a part of something meaningful in this life and he very clearly treasured the things which many of us take for granted… you know, the little things.
He shared his greatest longings, wildest adventures and most heartfelt moments with all of us here during his time on Steemit and this was really only the last chapter of his life. Though I am thankful for being able to have called him a friend at all, I do sometimes wish that I had been able to know him before he began losing his sunshine too - to see the true soul, before the wounds of the world scarred him.
I saw a lot of parallels in the style of creative expression between you, wakeupkitty and my friend Dean and I just thought I would share a little bit of that story! Perhaps when you have a moment or the inclination, you might enjoy reading some of his other slices of life.
Photo by Ivor Thomas Funerals
I drift through nebulous space unbound by any restraint, passing Andromeda towards the Milky Way. I have no past, no dreams, no future but this now. It is all in these cold, cold stars. I watch suns become wonderful with lesser orbs reflecting light like children revolving around the mother. Time has no meaning. Distance is just a pace out of sight. I encompass it all, yet all does not encompass me, except a small blue world; it is there that I am longed for; from there comes the only warmth reaching out to the farthest distances, I am drawn to the one that calls.
My personal stereo, plugged to my past, now, my heart, takes me for a trip in the music, up above the mountains to the starry blackness. There is a dance going on and I can see ghosts in and out of the music, pretty, light and easy. They are really shaking it and I want to join in with the prettiest one with the sea-wave hair and eyes of mystery blue impenetrable, shaking her stuff, with her laugh raised fabulously to the stars.
Then she is gone, just suddenly not there anymore. I turn around looking for her and find myself beside tracks with a goods train pulling away, so I start walking after it. A small snigger behind me makes me turn and there she is looking at me with her incredible smile so inviting like a dream in Paris. I don’t dare move in case she vanishes again.
An excerpt from "Snowing in the Orient" by Dean Moriarty
❤❤❤
Until next time...
Much Love from Country Bumpkinland, South Africa xxx
Jaynielea
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Hi dear Jaynie,
Such a beautiful, heartwarming post you dedicated to @wales! I am glad you did.
I recognize a lot, even more after visiting his account and reading a few of his posts.
I saw comments of people I knew, some I still talk to once in a while, some died (@wonderwop, @fitinfood) and I even found my own posts/comments.
I don't think @wales and I ever spoke but I understand why he intrigued you.
If I read his posts, the comments, the communities we both joined (and you too), read what we did to promote Steemit (it's what I used X for), it feels as if nothing has changed except for the loss of great Steemians, many writers, great artists. In a way it makes me sad.
Thank you for sharing the touching story about your friendship with me. Your words, just like his, touch my soul more than you will ever know.
A warm hug to you, it's good to know there are people who understand the 'crazy' mind of a lonelywriter.
🤗🍀💕
P.s. It was great to read he never knew what he would write about, it's how I write (although I wrote nothing today).
Glad you enjoyed it sweetheart :)
And yes, lots of good people lost! Too many!
It is a small world when you start looking at it closely.
There are indeed :)
<3
🤗💕🍀
MWAH! Much love sweetheart!
TEAM 1
Congratulations! This comment has been upvoted through steemcurator04. We support quality posts , good comments anywhere and any tags.Thank you for such a beautiful tribute to Dean! Yes, I'm one of the OGs who remembers him well... and I had tears in my eyes by the end of this post. He touched so many lives, even if not everyone he touched was even aware they had been touched.
I suppose some would be tempted to simply describe him as a "tormented creative genius," but he was so much more than that; defied description, really.
This world is not well suited to people like @wales, even though they bring such meaning to so many... a riddle, within a riddle, within a riddle; makes me want to read Kerouac again.
Meh... what I have to say isn't coming out well. If at all.
It came out perfectly, and thank you! You are indeed an OG in this space :) and I am ever grateful that you are still around. It was hard to write that post yesterday and it hit a few emotional nerves for me in my own life which also just happened to completely de-rail today. (possible ramble incoming).
I often feel the same way about myself too. Definitely today.
Meh indeed.
xxx
I guess we feel him directly because of that sense of "There, but for the grace of God, go I."
Thinking about you, and hoping that your skies will soon be less cloudy.
xo
People like you make them so. Thank you.
@theluvbug
MWAH! and thank you :) but that... is me... (@theluvbug) and self promo isn't really my thing :D but I appreciate the thought so much!
Is this still Marianne?
Why not promote yourself once in a while?
Marianne tries to hop by once in a while, is updated and today it's me.
@ wakeupkitty
Oh hello sweetheart :D
Meh... it's just not me, to do that kind of thing.
You are a perfect example of good content. I revommend you. 🤗🥳
Well, thank you kindly sweetheart :D I appreciate the vote of confidence ;) xxx
Happy weekend dear 💕