Rinpoche’s character

Rinpoche’s character

I am very observant of the Rinpoche’s character and over time as they say a friend’s behavior influences the mindset of a colleague. Rinpoche wakes up from sleep and notices of the surrounding, and I laugh at his vigor to sleep in such a place. He stares at the roof, lost in thoughts despite all the noise in the background. Numerous individuals are cheering with enthusiasm at the points earned and jeer at the loss. We left the baseball court at Wrigley Field and went on with their journey to North Dakota. We got into the car and drove off to Elgin sharing stories of the baseball experience. I drove at a very high speed with the excitement of the day’s achievement. Approximately 30 minutes later, I slowed down only to see a pedestrian flagging the car down.

I glanced at him and noticed he could not recognize the man. He was a middle-aged haggard-looking man desperate for a stopping car. I accelerated while Rinpoche stared at me viciously.‘ But why? Did you have to ignore him? Do you have a heart, really?’ Rinpoche said, staring at my face with a stern look. I ignored him as I could hear his voice. A string of thoughts ran through my mind, which made me feel the man was a bad omen on our journey. ‘You cannot trust anyone; he may not have had good intentions of stopping us. Rinpoche, not everyone has a positive thought as you do. So stop ranting at me,’ i answered calmly after a long silence. Rinpoche was agitated; however, with the spiritual personality, he controlled his emotions. He thought he had a lot to do to transform this guy driving the car. He had a significant role to play as a spiritual manager of souls (Etherington 11).

The two of us had varied emotions, and we took an estimate of 10 minutes without talking to each other. At midday, they arrived at Iowa State, Ames city under the scorching sun, thirsty and hungry at the same time. I headed straight to the Café Beaudelaire and parked the car at the edge of the gate. The café is famous for American food at tasty levels and affordable. We courageously walked in and sat along with the front seats at the counter. Rinpoche ordered for drop biscuits and sausage while I opted for Texas barbecue beef with fried potatoes. Rinpoche took the first handful of his meal and became nervous. His heart began racing first and felt like throwing up. He rushed to the sink, and just before he could get on it, he let out all the stomach content at an alarming rate. Everyone in the room stopped eating while some of the customers walked away in disgust. The floor was spoilt in smelly food remains of the snacks he took before they began the journey.

The café manager rushed to the scene, annoyed because customers were leaving the premises without even settling their bills. I stopped taking my meal and rushed to see what is happening to my friend. I became worried, and he quickly got off his hand, rushed him to the nearest medical center for medical attention. We arrived at the McFarland International Travel Clinic, where Rinpoche, the nursed who attended to him, suspected him of food poisoning (Streib 190). He was put on treatment, and he could not leave the hospital till after his conditions have stabilized. I had to find a way to keep myself busy all through the night till morning when Rinpoche would be discharged. I may spend the night watching over him, but the doctor denied me the chance. I drove off to the café and apologized to the manager.

Despite the anger he portrayed during the incident, he accepted my apology and wanted to know the progress of the patient. I settled the bill, and he found me a place to calm my feet overnight. I tried to get rid of every thought in my mind so that I could catch some sleep, but it was not possible. My mind kept wandering off to different issues, disturbing my mentality. I was restless only to find myself awake early morning with sun rays penetrating via the window into the room. I got out of bed and picked the car keys, leaving for the hospital immediately. I found Rinpoche was in the hospital bed stronger than he was yesterday. He recognized my presence and agreed he was feeling better. The nurse on duty assessed his situation, and we left focusing on our journey. Rinpoche kept thanking his stars for saving his life, appreciating God for the new day alive.

He sat in the back seat, silent and collected. He stared outside the window for so long. I wondered what he was thinking. ‘Hey, brother! What are you thinking about so deeply?’ I asked him, and he responded he appreciated, his believing in religion was a soul saver. I tried to rush; time was not on our side. We had focused on arriving at home in North Dakota within the next two days. However, it now seems impossible; we were going to spend more days on the way than expected. I opted to be a fast driver against the rule I had set for myself because I was nervous about the time frame I had in my cast. I stepped on the accelerator and drove off as fast as possible. The way was quite clear since it was in the morning, few vehicles were on the road. It was like I was an alone driver on the highway.

I glanced at the back and noticed Rinpoche was deep asleep. Poor boy, he was in the bad state yesterday. His spiritual personality is useful, I thought. He believed he could be well again, and indeed he is. Let him acquire some rest; he deserved it. In two hours, we entered South Dakota. I was hungry, remember I began the journey without taking any meal. I felt weak, shaky, and dizzy. I could not move any further; therefore, I stopped the car near some coffee shop and grabbed some drinks and snacks for myself and my sleeping Rinpoche. I took a few minutes gobbling on the meals and went on with my journey.  Two hours later, I was in Aberdeen city, and by this time, Rinpoche was awake (Merullo 59). He seemed tired and dehydrated, and he took some of the beverages I had bought. I loved to see him in the present mood; he had changed my perspective about spirituality. I could not afford to see him getting away from me.

Cecilia must have been wise to decide me to go home with Rinpoche. He is an object of change everywhere he is, evident in our talks and the way he expressed his ideas. My sister Cecilia was a reserved person; however, she did not know how much she has impacted me, especially with the presence of Rinpoche. I drove off, and Rinpoche was concerned and cautioned over the speed I pressed on. He began singing a religious hymn:

We are marching to Zion

Beautiful, beautiful  Zion

We are marching upwards to Zion the beautiful city of God

‘Are we marching to Zion, really?’ I inquired. I wondered if this was realistic. He heard me and answered back, ‘At this rate you are driving? We surely are. You never know unless you regulate your speed, your head!’ I listened to him keenly paying attention to every detail of this conversation. Did spirituality mean individuals are unstable on the fate of life? The moment he was on the hospital bed, he was very optimistic about his recovery. However, he is here pessimistic about our journey. Did he mean we could be walking our last path to our death, or he had a vision in his sleep as we began the journey in South Dakota? Spirituality is very complicated stuff that has two sides, though I do not believe in instability in religion. The act encourages hypocrisy, which Rinpoche made me understand; it enhances the loss of faith in humanity against religious aspects.

As I negotiated a corner on my way to North Dakota, I bumped into a warning sign of danger ahead. Something was not right, and Rinpoche looked at me worried, unsure of the happenings on the way. I could spot an ambulance due to the red light from the siren at the top of the vehicle. It was an accident, and the saving lives mission was still in progress. Chopped body parts could be seen being collected by individuals in gloves while those alive with injuries carried to the ambulance. All this long, Rinpoche was silent, observing things at an angle in a terrific mood. I drove past the accident slowly, and I noted it happened due to the head collision between a truck and a saloon car. Lives were lost, and the passenger vehicle was reduced to a mangled wreck.

Figure 1: Grisly Road Accident (Utah Officials)

I felt emotional when I saw the blood of the lost lives scattered by the road. I thought there is a sense of Rinpoche’s words about marching to Zion. He was possibly realistic, and spirituality is a matter of concern.