“The thinker, slowly going on his way, suddenly stood still…”
Siddhartha looked up and around him, a smile crept over his face, and a strong feeling of awakening from a long dream spread right through his being. Immediately he walked on again, quickly, like a man who knows what he has to do.
The only book that I’ve read repeatedly… Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
(And yet I wonder, what would Siddhartha have to say about me learning from his life as an example? Was it not he who left The Illustrious Buddha in order to follow his own path? Was it not he who affirmed that we must each find our own path to self and strategy in its conquest? I wonder…)
I find myself at the beginning of a new journey and, not surprisingly, I therefore find myself with another copy of Hesse’s classic. Despite the abundance of events that need be accounted for due to the time that has passed since my last entry to this blog, my current plans give me the urge to read, reflect, and write. As of this afternoon, I have confirmed plans with Democratic Party offices in New Mexico to leave Monterey within the next two weeks so as to serve as a full-time volunteer for the Obama campaign. After a summer of restlessness for not having where to dedicate my mind and energy, this opportunity is a Godsend. And I cannot think of a better description of my state of mind and conviction than the very words of Hesse to describe the journey of Siddhartha himself.
I leave soon to New Mexico… knowing what what I have to do. (tomorrow something about swimming, Buddhism, Guerrilla Warefare, and Bruce Lee – I think.)
