Don Quixote

My Mother tells me that I can't fix everything. But that doesn't keep me from wanting to try. You see, ever since I was an adolescent boy, my hero has been Don Quixote de la Mancha, which usually means I go off fighting windmills and chasing dragons, constantly dreaming the impossible dream. (If any of this is lost on you, I suggest you find the musical Man of La Mancha or read the classic Spanish novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes). I have often been the one to see giants instead of windmills, castles instead of taverns, and beautiful dreams instead of awful realities.

At one point, Cervantes is accused of being an idealist, a bad poet, and an honest man...to which he pleads guilty. He says, I've been a soldier and a slave. I've seen my comrades fall in battle or die more slowly under the lash in Africa. I've held them in my arms at the final moment. These were men who saw life as it is, yet they died despairing. No glory, no brave last words, only their eyes, filled with confusion, questioning "Why?" I don't think they were wondering why they were dying, but why they had ever lived. When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? To surrender dreams - -this may be madness; to seek treasure where there is only trash. Too much sanity may be madness! But maddest of all - -to see life as it is and not as it should be.

I want to bring cheer where there is nothing but sorrow, and hope where there is nothing but loss.

I want to be a friend to the friendless, and help to the helpless.

I want to fight unwinnable battles and duel unbeatable foes.

I want to right the worst of wrongs and make up with good for the bad things that were done.

I want to love the unlovely, unloving and the unlovable.

I want to speak words of encouragement to those who are broken down.

I want to see the invisible, receive the incredible, and believe the impossible.

I want to heal broken hearts and bind up their wounds.

I have at times been accused of always needing a cause, a hill to die on, a distressing damsel to rescue. I have made myself a fool standing up for things I believed in. I have sometimes brought trouble on myself by speaking out about things when others wished I would just sit down and shut up. I am not always understood, not always appreciated, but I'm not looking for admiration or recognition. I'm simply doing what I have to do.

I'll charge hell with a water pistol and go devil hunting with a switch.

I'm afraid of nothing.

I'll get out of the boat if someone calls to me.

I want to make the world a better place.

I want to heal broken hearts and bind up wounds.

Maybe my mother is right. I can't fix everything. If I could, life would be a lot different now. My life would be different now. But there are just some things that can't be fixed. There are some circumstances that cannot be changed. There are some people who can't be helped. Through it all, one thing I have learned...and that is how not to give up. I don't give up on God, I don't give up on living, and I won't give up on you.