Cruise Into a New Me

A few months back I went on a short cruise from Miami to Jamaica and while I was on the boat, I met a man who introduced me to this book. While I was on my cruise, I would make it a nightly habit to go to the cigar lounge, smoke, and listen to conversations. This boat was no different than any other, in that people were always talking in the cigar lounge. Each night on my cruise, I could not help but think that some of the people on this ship were having the lowest forms of conversation I had heard in a long time. I was hoping that I would meet some people with more to say than what the news tells them.

On one of my visits to the lounge, I met a man named Larry who I immediately connected with on a higher level. It was interesting how much we knew about one another even though we had just met. For the rest of the cruise, Larry and I would have challenging and witty conversations that most everyone else would be lost by. Sometimes Larry and I would have conversations loud enough for others to hear but you could tell by the looks on their faces that we had lost them long ago. Larry was a really interesting guy and when he suggested I read Siddhartha, I immediately knew I should.

Upon returning from my trip, I looked to Amazon.com and ordered the book. Once the book arrived, I stopped all my other books and put my focus on reading this one. The book is a very short read but it is not exactly an easy read. The book itself could be read in no time but it is the understanding what you read that presents a challenge.

The main character of the book takes a life journey, allowing his life to steer the path. He spends his time as everything from a lover to a ferry operator, only moving from one thing to the next when his mind tells him to do so. In the book, Siddhartha starts out living with his father, then becomes a Samana, then becomes a lover and a merchant, only to become a ferry boat operator. Siddhartha is in interesting fellow and everyone who comes into contact with him throughout the book wishes he never had to go, especially his good friend Govinda. At one point he even knows he had a child from his lover stage but knows he cannot be with that child and must follow his life. After reading this book, it took me no time to realize that Larry had me read this book to open my mind to my own life.

I would suggest anyone who is spiritual and a deep thinker to take on the challenge of reading this book. I give the book only 4 out of 5 stars based on the fact that it is not for everyone. That said, in the right application this book deserves far more then 5 stars. I personally grew inside from reading this one and will forever be thankful for people like Larry in my life.