Thinking Out Loud

Thinking Out Loud: Defending the Defenseless

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Cervantes  work, Don Quixote.

“Seeing what was going on, Don Quixote said in an angry vie, “Discourteous knight, it ill becomes you to assail on who cannot defend himself, mount your steed and take you land and I will you know that you are behaving as a coward.” Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

Note: Throughout our world, in our cities and towns, and in our neighborhoods, there are people too weak to defend themselves. In a scene from the movie Romero, a peasant woman stops Archbishop Romero on the street and says to him, “If you do not speak for us, who will?” In Ralph Ellison’s book, The Invisible Man, Ellison says, “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” Who are the invisible people in your life that need defending?

Thinking Out Loud: Become a Prospector of Good

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Cervantes  work, Don Quixote.

“The girls were looking at him and straining their eyes to make out the features which the clumsy visor obscured, but when they heard themselves called maidens, a thing so much out of their line, they could not restrain their laughter, which made Don Quixote wax indignant, and say, “Modesty becomes the fair, and moreover laughter that has little cause is great silliness; This, however, I say not to pain or anger you, for my desire is none other than to serve you”” Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

Note: Don Quixote’s view of the women was different from that which most had of them. Don Quixote saw beyond the surface and saw the goodness each woman had that was obscured by their reputation. How often I judge others by appearance or reputation only to be humbled when I more deeply discover the person’s gifts. When we look for the good in others, we usually find it. When we cut them some slack, we often find that they are cutting us some slack. We are imperfect beings working our way through life. I think it’s better to be prospectors for the good in others and in ourselves.

Thinking Out Loud: Dream on Dreamers

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Cervantes  work, Don Quixote.

“He did not care to put off any longer the execution of his design urged on to it by the thought of all the world was losing by his delay, seeing what wrongs  he intended to right, grievances to redress, injustices to repair, abuses to remove, and duties to discharge.”― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

Note: Have you had a great dream? The dream of a fool? Did someone accuse you of being a Don Quixote? If you have, congratulations to you. You had the courage to follow your dream. What appears to be foolish to others is real to dreamers. I imagine the conspiracy theorists of the 15th century probably said Columbus’s discovery of American didn’t happen. It was fabricated. People who dare to dream and to follow their dream regardless of the shouts of the naysayers are the people who make a difference. Do you have a great dream? Grasp hold of it, pull it tightly to you, toss what you need in your backpack and head off in pursuit of it. We need you.

Thinking Out Loud: Love is All

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Cervantes  work, Don Quixote.

“He, Don Quixote, came to the conclusion that nothing more was needed now but to look out for a lady to be in love with, for a knight-errant without love was like a tree without leaves of fruit, or a body without a soul.”― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

Note: When we’re in love all is right in our world. The sky is bluer, the sun brighter, and passing clouds give images of hearts and doves. Love is an elixir like no other. Every living creature needs to be loved and to love. Love is all. Love always wins.

Thinking Out Loud:

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Cervantes  work, Don Quixote.

“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 Saavedra, Don Quixote

Note: Are you a dreamer? Do you dare see life as it should be and not as it is? If we dare to live our lives as we believe the world should be, we have to be prepared for the criticism of those who lost the ability to dream. They fear a world where there is no global warming. They fear a world where love reigns. They fear a world where people of every race, culture, ethnicity, and gender can live peacefully together. I prefer to be a dreamer and believe the dream is within our grasp.

Thinking Out Loud: There are Consequences to Our Actions

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Harper Lee’s  work, To Kill a Mockingbird.

“Atticus said to Jem one day, “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.

“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Note: When a developer drains a swamp destroying the habitat for thousands of animals, the developer destroys something beautiful and innocent in his/her quest for money. When we shame and condemn another, we, like the developer, destroy a part of the person being shamed. When we use false statements to support a lie we degrade ourselves in the process. All the mockingbird does is to sing. I have mockingbirds that frequently visit my yard and compete with me for ripened figs. They always win. I also win because I hear them singing. It’s better to consider the consequences of our actions before we act.

Thinking Out Loud: What Have You Done Today to Earn Another’s Trust?

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Harper Lee’s  work, To Kill a Mockingbird.

“We’re paying the highest tribute you can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It’s that simple.” ― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Note: One can’t order trust online. Nor can one expect somebody to trust him/her without first earning that trust. Trust results from the accumulation of hundreds of small action. It only takes one act to destroy all the previous good acts. Once lost, it’s difficult to regain another’s trust. Trust is an imprint on one’s character. It’s indelible. We earn another’s trust by keeping our word, standing on trusted values, and never taking the cowards way out when facing difficult challenges.

Thinking Out Loud: Discovering Real Courage

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Harper Lee’s  work, To Kill a Mockingbird.

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

Note: It takes courage to stand alone against the crowd (in can be anywhere) to support something you know is right, but the crowd doesn’t want to hear. If you know in your heart you are right, you take the stand and along with it, the consequences. I found myself in that situation several times. I have the scars to prove it. I can look back and wonder where I found the courage. All I know is that it was there at the right moment. I think that’s how it works. You have to face it, alone. When you do, the courage awakens within you, and you discover strength you didn’t realize was there.

Thinking Out Loud: Who Are You?

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Harper Lee’s  work, To Kill a Mockingbird.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

Note: I think about parent – child relationships. I loved my dad, understanding him takes more work. He was one of eleven children of Italian immigrants. His father died when he was 14. He quit school in 8th grade to go to work in a shoe factory to help support his family. My dad and mom were married during the great depression. He was drafted during WWII and fought in Europe. I will never have the experience of his anxieties, fears, or doubts. Nor will I understand where he found the inner strength to go forward and raise a family. Like my dad, we all have stories. Our stories are similar, yet vastly different. The way we experience our story creates the person we are today. Perhaps the good way to understand another is to listen non-judgmentally to their story and appreciate the challenges they overcame to get to the present moment.

Thinking Out Loud: The Dance of Love

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Boris Pasternack’s  work, Dr. Zhivago.

“Their love was great. Most people experience love without becoming aware of the extraordinary nature of this emotion. But to them—and this made them exceptional—the moments when passion visited their doomed human existence like a breath of eternity were moments of revelation, of continually new discoveries about themselves and life.”

Note: A deep, passionate love continuously breathes new life into a relationship. The parties to the relationship lose themselves in each other. They maintain their individuality and simultaneously surrender themselves completely to the other. Observing them is like watching two great dancers. The individuals become absorbed into the dance of love. With each beat of music they capture another glimpse of the other and fall deeper into love.

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