Book Review: Siddhartha

Herman Hesse's Siddhartha is a story of exploration into what it means to be alive.  The book articulates the complexities of life while, at the same time, showcasing the beauty of life's simplicity. Quite the paradox indeed. This book is about the journey. How one man comes to find his way in the world.

Siddhartha was written during the end of the World War One era and published in 1922. It seems to encapsulate the spiritual notions of the time. A move away from the dichotomous nature of religion of the 19th Century and an embrace of the spirituality associated with Buddhism. Hesse's work chronicles the journey of a boy named Siddhartha who is a seeker of the truths of life.

Siddhartha does not, or maybe more amply put , cannot, accept the teachings of others. He is clever, kind, and patient. A man who is liked by all that come into contact with him. In many ways he is a prodigy, and things come quite easy to him. This in turn leads to his curiousity. His way must be different from others, because it is "his" way. Even in the presence of enlighted ones, like Buddha himself, Siddhartha is not swayed from his desire to experience the world on his own path.

His life takes him down many paths. He learns to "Think, Fast, and Wait". While these do not seem like amazing traits they give him the ability to let the world happen around him. He does not force the world to do his will, but he makes it possible for the world around him to present what he wants in front of him. Siddhartha has the unique ability to put himself in the right circumstance.

The book is a great depiction of a life. We often arrive at some point in our own lives and wonder how exactly we got to this point for good or for bad. Siddhartha shows that the chain of events in our lives is logical but inherently crazy. Flux is the only constant.

"What is a treasure and wisdom for one man always sounds like foolishness to another."

The message of Siddhartha is that every individual must choose their own path. It is experience that makes wisdom. Failure is another good way to put it, but through failure comes wisdom.

"When someone seeks then it happens all too easily that his eyes will see only the thing he is seeking, that he cannot find anything, cannot let anything in, because he is always thinking only of that thing he seeks, becausehe has a goal, because he is possessed by the goal. Seeking means having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal. One may indeed be a seeker, for, striving toward your goal, there is much you do not see which is right before your eyes."

Stay on Target

 

The importance of staying on target can not be understated. Once you have laid out your objectives it is important to keep them in your vision. I am, by nature, very goal oriented. I have talked a great deal about the path to the eventual end, but I think the target itself is of importance. Setting a target can be a difficult thing to do. In reality we don't just set ourselves on one particular target, but a great deal of them throughout our lives. One target leads to another and that one to another.

It is important to evaluate just what our goals are. I made the decision to come to California quite hastily. Every mile I drove was one step closer to my goal. Once arriving in the area where I want to stay for a while I had to set my sights on a new target. Broadly stated that target is "staying here as long as you can"

My long term goals are to learn the olympic lifts from a great coach, and train with some quality people at Catalyst Athletics. The ancillary targets that come with it are finding a job to support myself for the time being and an affordable place to live. I have stated before that everything has been kind of handed to me throughout life. Goals have always been there, but help has always been provided. Now, although I am not without help, it seems as if I really have to figure out just what targets I want to pursue. Where do I want to work? Is it a career or just a job? 

This process has made me realize just how inexperienced I really am. The Catch-22 of the situation is that all employers I really want to work for require experience. (I know this is more of my own Catch-22 as opposed to the employers) I am supremely confident of my skills to learn and adapt to nearly any job out there, but getting that across to employers can be a bit difficult. I will have to take a big dose of humility and realize that no matter what I have to start somewhere. Further, I will have to get over my fear of committment and realizing that it is just a starting point.

Staying on target requires both broad and narrow goals. Broad goals to determine who we are in the situations around us, but narrow goals to capture our true desires and motivation. It is hard to stay on target when things go bad, but continuing the pursuit will eventually lead to good things.

Patience

"God grant me patience.......I want it now!" - Somebody

I am not a patient person. I want everything to happen in a timely manner. That time is most often "right now". For that reason I struggle with looking long term, yet I see the necessity of the big picture. Each day is a step in one direction. I know that I am headed somewhere, but exactly where, I am not sure. I have a thirst for accomplishment. Even greater than my thirst for accomplishment may be my desire for the reward.

Most of the time my demands are probably unreasonable. I can attribute many of my failures to simply being impatient and unwilling to see something through. I have been in California for two weeks. I should take the successes I have had and just keep moving in the right direction. Still, I am frustrated when things don't occur on my timeline. This is part of my growth. I have been fortunate to be the center of my universe, maybe spoiled fits better than fortunate, part of learning and wisdom comes from losing some of my control.

This is another duality that I struggle with. Control and the lack thereof. Somethings are under my control and some things are not. I have pursued leads, but I will always question if I have done enough. How do I know when to sit back and how do I know when to jump in? Everyone faces this problem. What sets the succesful apart from the unsuccesful may be the confidence to push on when things aren't entirely in our control. Patience does not have to be reactive. I guess what I am looking for is the patience to know that I will keep pushing on despite the bumps along the way.

I am frustrated, but the fact that I am frustrated means that I do care. I should probably relax. My fate will not be decided in 3 hours, 3 days, or 3 weeks. Is it good things come to those who wait? Or those who wait miss out on good things? I guess I'll just keep pushing on to figure that out. When it's time to wait I guess I'll figure out if it really is the hardest part.

Homer is waiting for his background check to clear. He really wants his gun.