It was a gorgeous day outside. The sky was clear of any puffy, white clouds, and the sun was shining radiantly upon the land. There was an extremely crowded area surrounding the cruise ship where they were letting people off. Great, how am I supposed to find this guy in all this ruckus? I wandered around for a bit, looking like a lost child searching for their parent. Once I saw the skinny figure of a man with nothing but a robe upon his back and some worn down sandals, I knew it had to be the guy, Siddhartha. The satchel hanging over his shoulder looked very heavy and uncomfortable. “Hey, Siddhartha!?” I yelled in his direction. He turned around and smiled, walking towards me. He looked calm, yet nervous and anxious. I put my hand out for a friendly handshake, and he accepted it.
“You ready to head to the house and get our ‘jump’ on?” I asked. “What are you talking about…” he put down his satchel and pulled the other clothes out. They were horrendous. “No one told you? I’m going to show you the wild side of life, the one you probably haven’t experienced yet. We’re going sky diving over the raging Rocky Mountains!” His face got pretty pale, but I think he was too scared to really speak out about not wanting to go. I gave him a pair of sweatpants, figuring jeans would be too uncomfortable for a man who’s used to walking around in a little dainty robe, and a tee shirt. “Alright,” he said, grabbing the clothing from my hands, “let’s do this”.
While boarding the plane, we saw the other eight people who would be joining us for the day. A sudden burst of heavy perfume hit our faces as we walked in, and we both smiled at each other. “That smells like the ladies did at the casino!” He whispered to me. I could only imagine what Siddhartha was thinking. Probably something similar to how could this place get any worse? I didn’t feel bad; I knew this would be the experience of his life.
We could hear the chatter of the other people, consisting of two kids, their parents, (which included the lady with the crazy perfume) and four college students that were just doing it for fun. The young children, having absolutely no fear of anything like this yet, couldn’t have been any more excited. Their mother was basically freaking out, muttering complaints to her husband the whole time. The plane started going up, and boy, was it a rush. We hitched on our parachutes, and got in line at the door. The sight of the world below us was incredible, something I’d never forget. “Alright guys, ready?” “Bring it on!” I turned around and surprisingly, Siddhartha was the one to say that! I smiled big, and in a split second I was out the door, flying down over these gorgeous mountains.
The air was pounding against my face, and the adrenaline rush was incredible. I looked over and saw a man’s silhouette dashing by; it was Siddhartha! He gave me a thumbs up and smiled, his face looking like it was about to peel away and fly off. The Rockies were breathtaking from such a height. The ground came closer, and we pulled the parachutes. My feet jerked under me, and we both landed softly upon a sandy lakeside beach. Exhausted, we went into the cabin hotel, and slept soundly for the night.
The next morning, we both woke up to more sun and warmth. We feasted on some scrumptious breakfast foods, and packed up a few things for lunch in a handy lunchbox. “I can’t wait for some meditation! After our journey yesterday, I have so much to look back on and think about.” He told me. I was happy to have an experience that could relate to his life, and to hear his thoughts on yesterday’s adventure. This guy’s pretty cool. Even though I’m not too sure how to do this meditating thing, I’m definitely willing to try. We sat down on the warm sand, and sunk right into it. He thought about how different it was compared to meditating with Buddha. “Okay, now cross your legs, close your eyes, and relax your entire body. Think about nothing but simply breathing and let thoughts come to you.” He instructed. I have a feeling I’ll be sitting here for a while, might as well get comfortable. I did what Siddhartha told me to do, and felt lost in a world of peace and quiet. It was awesome! Hearing the tiny waves of the lake clash against the sand, the sun beaming upon our skin, it was incredible.
After about an hour and a half of being in such a serene state, Siddhartha tapped me on the shoulder, and I awoke. “Wow, now I see why you like doing this.” I told him. He smiled, and we both got our lunchboxes out and started snacking on the food. What a great day it was.
At the end of the day, it was time for Siddhartha to go back home. We started walking over to the ship. I thought about a lot of things during that walk, and came to a conclusion that Siddhartha clearly enjoyed himself for the most part. In the end, I think he would much rather choose to meditate in a calm area. That’s what he’s used to, is comfortable with, and likes. Skydiving of course gave him a taste of what the wild side is like, although he had once experienced that with the trip to the casinos. I think that one adrenaline rush was enough for him, he seemed very satisfied. I’m sure he will end up doing more courageous things now that he built up the confidence, and I’m sure we will meet again.
He gave me a tight hug, and started walking for the ship. Surprisingly, I was a little sad to see him go, but happy that I made it a good trip for him. He got on the ship, and ran over to the edge to wave at me until I couldn’t see him anymore. I turned around, and with a smile on my face, started walking home.
