Beat Doesn't Mean Tired Or Bushed, So Much As It Means beato, The Italian For Beatific; To Be In A State

Beat doesn't mean tired or bushed, so much as it means beato, the Italian for beatific; to be in a state of beatitude, like St. Francis, trying to love all life, trying to be utterly sincere with everyone, practicing endurance, kindness, cultivating joy of the heart. How can this be done in our mad modern world of multiplicities and millions? By practicing a little solitude, going off by yourself once in a while to store up that most precious of golds: the vibrations of sincerity.

— Jack Kerouac, Good Blonde & Others (Grey Fox Press, January 1, 1993) (via Whiskey River)