Siddhartha Comes To America

          I was awakened to the sound of my buzzing alarm clock going off at 6:45am. It isn’t for school though because it is the middle of summer. Today is the day that I get to pick up Siddhartha from the airport. This was the first thought that crossed my mind as I woke up lying in bed with the fan going at one hundred miles per hour to keep the room at a comfortable temperature. I crawled out of bed and headed to the shower and was out of the house by 8:00am. I was headed to the airport to pick up Siddhartha, whose flight was to arrive at 9:15am.

           

As I arrived at the crowded airport I was able to pick out Siddhartha due to his elegantly clad robes. His flight must have arrived promptly because he was perched up against a giant pillar patiently waiting. Not knowing if he knew it was me or not, I pulled the vehicle up and gave the horn a beep and waved to get his attention. I pull over, get out and assist him with loading his luggage into the trunk of my car. We then proceeded to enter the vehicle for our trip back to South Hadley. Siddhartha immediately had question after question for me. I answered everything and anything he wanted to know. He especially wanted to know what good restaurants we had in the area, and the rest of his questions were trivial ones about what America was like in general. I brought Siddhartha back to my house and in the morning we were going to be off and on our way to Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

           

Growing up as a child, we took a yearly vacation to Cape Cod. Remembering what it was like there made me think that it was a perfect place for me to take Siddhartha for a beautiful place to meditate. When I was younger I remember going to the beach and digging in the sand. I would proceed to place my chair on the rim of the freshly dug hole and submerge my feet into it. I would feel the cool, moist, grainy sand on my feet and it would calm me. We departed South Hadley that morning and headed east for the Cape. Siddhartha slept the entire two and a half hour car ride.

           

We arrived at the beach around ten and Siddhartha and I gazed out at the ocean in amazement. The dark blue ocean glimmered as the sun shined from behind the puffy white cumulus cloud. The sky is brilliant, just like home. “The world was beautiful when looked at in this way- without any seeking, so simple, so childlike.” (46) I want to go swimming. We went to the water’s edge and set down our belongings and spread out the blanket. Siddhartha and I then dashed to the water despite its chilly temperature. I looked at Siddhartha and he “looked down and was completely filled with a desire to let go of himself and be submerged in the water.” (88) Moments later we emerged from the water and dried off in the breeze. We laid on the blanket and listened to the grass on the dune rustle in the wind. I’m glad I’m here. This place is truly beautiful and reminds me of home. Siddhartha began meditating so I decided to go for a walk and returned several hours later.

            “Janelle, this place is great but can we go somewhere exciting?”

            “Where were you thinking?”

            “I want to go somewhere loud and with lots of people!”

Two days later we arrived in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The glitz and glamour of the Casino lights took Siddhartha by surprise.

            “How do you like it?”

            “It’s amazing,” Siddhartha replied, “I have never seen so many lights and people in one place.”

            “I thought you’d be taken back by it. There’s always something going on here. Every day fortunes are made, and fortunes are lost.”

We walked down the boardwalk and I noticed Siddhartha gazing at the flashing lights and listening to the sounds of the traffic bustling down the strip. Horns honked as Siddhartha wandered into the middle of traffic in a daze. “All this had always been and he had never seen it, he was never present.” (46) We went to the Trump Taj Mahal Casino and Siddhartha walked over to the roulette tables. Within an hour Siddhartha exhausted two thousand dollars of his own fortune and he couldn’t have looked happier. “He derived a passionate pleasure through the gambling away and squandering of wretched money.” (79)

            “Do you realize you just blew two thousand dollars Siddhartha?”

            “Yes,” he replied.

            “Why do you have a giant smirk on your face then?”

            “Money is a material possession my friend. Life isn’t about the number of breathes you take, but the moments that take your breath away. It’s all about the moments that bring joy and happiness, and this is one of those moments,” Siddhartha replied.

            “I’m glad you are enjoying yourself, but we should get going soon so you don’t miss your flight home to India.”

We departed Atlantic City a couple hours later and started the first leg of Siddhartha’s long journey home to India.

           

Although Siddhartha adapted well in both settings, I believe he fits best at

Earle Road

beach in Cape Cod because of his personality and who he is and what his personality is like. Siddhartha seemed most comfortable at the beach because unlike Atlantic City, the beach is more like his home and it seems like he adapted easier there. The beach was calm, quiet, and was a place where Siddhartha could easily become one with his inner Atman. He was able to do what he does best, meditate. Going to Atlantic City enlightened Siddhartha and opened his eyes to new sights and things he hadn’t seen before. I think he adapted well in the more stimulating place, but for who Siddhartha is and what he does with his life, the beach is a better place for Siddhartha to be and he adapted better at the beach.