The other night I went to see the musical "The Man of La Mancha," which is one of my all time favorite movies and the play was also very good. The story is of Cervantes (the author of Don Quixote from which the play/film are very loosely based) being put on trial amongst a group of hardened prisoners. As his defense he presents a play in the prison about a Don Quixote, a crazed old man who believes that he is a knight and is on a quest to defeat evil and do good.
Part of the power of the play is in how the old man sees the world and people around him. In the famous song "The Impossible Dream" Quixote discusses the need to fight for the right, even if it is a failing cause. But the most touching part for me is when a fellow prisoner confronts Cervantes about the need to see life as it is. Cervantes replies about the madness of seeing life as it is and not as it should be, which made me think a great deal over the past days.
Was Cervantes in this play right? Is it worth it to always fight for our dreams and for what is right, even when it is impossible? Are we supposed to see life as it should be, including the people in it? And my feeling is, yes. In reality, isn't that the ultimate message of the gospel? The really neat thing about that, however, is the realization that the good will ultimately win, even if there are tough times ahead. But really imagine what would happen if we treated people like we would like to be treated, or if we all really worked to do what was right. In the play, the kindness and idealism of Don Quixote changes the life of a prostitute who comes to see herself as the kind knight did, as a woman with the potential for greatness and virtue. Because of Quixote she changes her life. And that is why we ought to see things as they should be, because we have the power and capacity to change ourselves and our lives, and if we only see things as they are then we will never achieve our true potential.
Anyways, those were some random thoughts I had from watching the play.
