I read all of Hermann Hesse’s “Siddhartha” today; it took me about two hours, maybe a little more. From the very beginning, it spoke to me because I identified with Siddhartha quite a bit. He was a talented, well-respected young man who left his family to wander in search of great knowledge and wisdom that he could not receive at home, then sought after worldly things, finally arriving at a great understanding of what life is and what the great mystery is all about alongside a river.

I cannot say that God has shown me his face by leading me to read this book, however I do feel more enlightened. The path of Siddhartha was always that of one who sought the truth and Nirvana; to be wise. My path is much like that. I want to discover the best of what God has intended for his people on Earth. I yearn for enlightenment and truth. I cannot understand those who want to be kept in darkness and ignorance.

During his lifelong journey, Siddhartha loses his best friend who chooses to be a disciple of the Buddha but comes back to him twice throughout his life; his lover who taught him the art of love and then dies from a snake bite; and his son, who runs away and leaves him similarly to how he left his father. The river that he grows to learn from ultimately teaches him the lesson of his understanding: that all life is a cycle. What was will be again. He sees thousands of faces in the water of the river as it flows by, and he learns to become at peace.