“He has lived for sixty years and has not reached the nirvana. He’ll turn seventy and eighty, and you and me, we will grow just as old and will do our exercises, and will fast, and will meditate. But we will not reach the nirvana, he won’t and we won’t.”

Many people strive to live until they grow old. But what about living long is so appealing? Is it the experiences? The friends and family? Happiness? We all have something we want to pursue in life. Because each of us is unique and we all have different things we are good at and things we are not so good at. Just because someone else is good at something, doesn’t mean that you can’t be just as good as them. But it also doesn’t mean that it’s the best path for you and your life. We all need to find what works for us and makes us happy. School is all about figuring out what we want to do in life so that we can be suitable members of society. That’s why we’re exposed to so many classes. So that we can determine if we like it and continue pursuing that path or decide that we don’t like it.

In Herman Hesse’s novel, “Siddhartha”, Siddhartha spends his whole life trying to pursue his happiness. From at first being a Brahmin, to a Samana, then a wealthy merchant. None of those mattered until he found Vasudeva the ferryman. With Vasudeva, he was able to learn from the river and was able to see what he wanted to pursue in life. Along with the lessons he learned from the river, he was able to see his long lost son because he followed the path that was best suited for him.\

“No, my dear, how should I be sad? I, who have been rich and happy, have become even richer and happier now. My son has been given to me.”

(Hesse, Hermann Siddhartha)

The best way to enjoy our life to the fullest is to find what makes us happy. If we are able to find that something that can make us happy, then of course living a long life will be worthwhile. The path that we take to find it can be rough but if we persevere and keep trying all of us will find our spark.