Aphorisms

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder"

This aphorism is very similar to the saying : "You don't know the true value of something until its gone". I agree and relate to both, especially after having experienced them countless times. It is only natural for us humans to get used to having "things" including people and personal belongings. Their importance to us seems to lose their value as time goes by until we reach the point  of taking it for granted. The concept of both aphorisms and the idea of taking things for granted can also be applied to Josheph Campbell's "Hero's Adventure". In his book, Joseph Campbell makes an  interesting observation concerning a character's transition from a normal person to a hero. He states that everyone is a hero and therefore everyone goes through changes in their lives. All of us went or will go through the process of  leaving childhood behind in order to become a self-responsible adult. Childhood is an incredible, happy and stress- free stage of our lives. A child's mind is innocent, they play, laugh and run around all day without any worries on their minds. As a child we often thought about what we would do when we grew up or how exciting it would be to go to school and work. Being a high school student I realize that those days of playing and running were the happiest moments of my life. Like Campbell said, my child self had to die in order for me to grow up and eventually become an adult. It isn't until now that I left that stage of my life life behind forever that I understand its value and importance. The absence of those days have made me grow fonder of each memory I have of my childhood days.

Final Siddhartha Blog

After finishing Siddhartha, after finishing any book, all the little things that led to the ending suddenly fit together. It allows us to comprehend why things happened, why some didn’t and why they were so important for the ending of the story. The more I read, the more I understood the book, and the he things I questioned were finally answered. When Siddhartha arrived to the town, he met a beautiful and intriguing young women named Kamala. Her way of thinking was completely different from any of the principles and teaching Siddhartha learned during his long years as a Samana. Her superficiality and desire for material things made me wonder if Kamala would be the one responsible to deviate him from his path of conquering the self. However, having had Kamala as a lover, a luxurious life, and gambling where things he had to experience in order to reach peace. He had to know what it was like having everything, material wise, and yet finding how empty he really was inside. Siddhartha believed in learning through experience, he discovered what it was like to be reach, to be poor, to conquer the body, to leave people behind and because of all that, he was able to become Gotama himself. A he explained at the ending, the bad must exist in order for us to be able to experience the good. “ I learned through my body and soul that it was necessary for me to sin, that I needed lust, that I had to strive for property and experience nausea and the depth of despair in order to learn to resist them, in order to learn to love the world, and no longer cope with it some kind of desired imaginary world, some imaginary vision of perfection, but to leave it as it is, to love it and be glad to belong to it” (p.116). What appeared to be an obstacle in his path, was actually part of his journey. He had to feel so sad and empty, to the point of suicide, to become the passive and wise ferrymen he became. This experiences where essential for Siddhartha’s journey to becoming Buddha.