And the world will be better for this…

I was talking with a young employee the other day, and commented how I was getting too old to be chasing windmills anymore.  I got a blank stare.  Admittedly that’s a fairly common reaction whenever I have something to say these days… so I went on to explain that I was making a reference to Don Quixote, the fictional character in the novel written by Miguel de Cervantes several centuries ago who battled windmills in an eccentric but determined display of chivalry.  I explained how Don Quixote had become a metaphor in Western culture for idealists chasing their dreams despite the ridicule of naysayers. My words did little to erase the stare.  Sigh.

It’s been a while since I picked up Don Quixote, so I took to the Internet to re-acquaint myself with the tale. There’s lots of wisdom packed into those pages:

“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”

― Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote

And how can any of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s ever forget “The Impossible Dream”? It was an anthem of our time. So sit back, listen to the words again, replay the melody in your head, and join with Don Quixote as you reach for your unreachable star:

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 pure 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 be willing 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 be peaceful and calm
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 fight the unbeatable foe.
To reach the unreachable star.