I believe in the Man of La Mancha, Don Quizote, a crazy man who believes he is a knight in a world where chivalry has long since died. While he may not be the sanest character ever written, he spends his life doing what he believes is right, despite the people who scorn and laugh at his pointless attempts. In the theatrical version, he sings a song, announcing his quest in beautiful lyrics that cannot be expressed in any better way:
"To dream the impossible dream; to fight the unbeatable foe; to bear with unbearable sorrow; to run where the brave dare not go; to right the unrightable wrong; to love pur and chaste from afar; to try when your arms are too weary; to reach the unreachable star. This is my quest, to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far. To fight for the right without question or pause, to march into Hell for a heavenly cause; and I know if I'll only be true to this glorious quest, that my heart will lie calm and peaceful when I'm laid to my rest, and the world will be better for this, that one man scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable star."
His belief in attempting the impossible is inspiring. It wasn't about winning, in his eyes. It was about trying no matter how exhausted the fight might make you, and going into a battle you know you will lose because you believe in the cause. In his eyes, he stood for chivalry, defended the virtue of women, and fought to defeat the Giants, which in reality were windmills. He fought and lost repeatedly, and yet through the scorn and mockery of the people around him, he would get back up and try again.
I believe there is a Man of La Mancha in each of us. There is a soldier somewhere in everyone. There are beliefs and integrity somewhere in each living person. The challenge is allowing ourselves to be that strong, learning to live according to our beliefs, and learning how to get by and keep fighting.
I believe that sometimes we simply have to be okay enough to breathe. Whatever situation we may be in, no matter how tragic or how difficult, breathing is necessary. Learning to breathe through the hurt, breathe through the tears, and learning to breathe through everything that makes us want to give up. Eventually, when things get easier, breathing will also get easier, and those breaths of fresh air will mean so much more. Undoubtedly Don Quixote learned to breathe as he ran headfirst into a windmill, a quest that would undeniably injure him, and indisputably the breaths he took afterwards came easier in the sense that he had made it through alive, even if unsuccessfully.
I believe in being content enough to smile. Being content does not mean being happy, although happiness is often a byproduct of being content. Learning to accept life and learning to accept yourself and the situations you are placed in will allow you to smile. Don Quixote had every reason to be discontented with his life, whith everyone who mocked and ridiculed him, yet he always found a way to block out everyone around him so that it wasn't too hard to smile.
A truly strong person will not hold back tears, won't tell themselves that they are stronger than that, and will not feel ashamed. An even stronger person will let others see them cry. We all need to see that even the strongest of us fall. Don Quixote exhibits this humanistic trait as he regains his sanity, realizing that chivalry is dead, and realizes that his quests were failures. I believe in being humble enough to cry.
Through all of the hurt and disappointments that life may throw at us, I believe in finding just enough happiness to make loving okay. I believe in being happy enough to love. Aldonza was a local bar tender and part time prostitute, and incidentally Don Quixote fell in love with her. In many ways, she was what made him happy.
No matter how hard we have it, if you look hard enough, there will always be something to be happy about. Learning to find that one thing, no matter how insignificant, is so important. Sometimes we have to let the smallest, most unimportant things make us so unbelievably happy, because oftentimes that's all we have.
When you find some way to be happy, you can find just enough happiness to love. I believe that it is still possible to love with a broken heart, as long as you find that little spark of happiness that makes it okay. Aldonza grew to love Don Quixote in the midst of being degraded and persecuted for her lifestyle, and she learned to hold on to the little things he said or did because they made her happy.
People often try to tell you to move on, let go. There are some things, some people that come through our life that are too important and leave too much to let them go. While passing through our life in only a moment's time, leaving so much in there wake, it is possible to hold on, but to be able to move on without them. As Don Quixote regains his sanity, Aldonza and Sancho try to hold on to whom Don Quixote was and everything he stood for.
I believe that every person and every situation we meet in life has something to give us, something we can learn, and in turn, we have something to give. Knowing that, it makes it easier to accept change, accept new people that may step into our lives, and to look for a deeper meaning than you can at first glance. Sancho and Aldonza were both extremely influenced by Don Quixote and his quests, and in turn Sancho gave him service and Aldonza gave him love.
I believe in being unorthodox. This world is full of boring people, and we are taught to conform since infancy. I truly admire those who stand out because they are who they are, so long as they are respectable people. I believe in taking the risks that others would avoid, loving with everything I have, and taking confidence and pride in the fact that I am who I am. Don Quixote believed himself to be the Man of La Mancha, a noble knight and an enemy to the evil windmills. It is safe to say that he was insane, and confident in his insanity. He knew who he was, understood his beliefs, and was ready to "march into Hell for a heavenly cause." That is more respectable to me than someone who is entirely sane and is too scared to be who they are.
Each morning, the sun will rise over the east horizon. Without fail, tomorrow will always come. No matter how difficult today is, no matter how dark the night may get, we always have tomorrow. If we lose this hope, life is meaningless. At the close of the book and play, Don Quixote loses that hope, and dies a sane but broken man.
I believe in living for today. the best things in life happen when we throw caution to the wind, take risks, do things that scare us, and ultimately follow the inner voice of the person we can be. At the end of every quest, Don Quixote sets out on yet another, throwing himself into harm's way and changing the lives of the people around him.
I believe in Don Quixtoe, the Man of La Mancha, and his quest of jousting windmills.
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