Re: YLSS 8-11-00:  What We See
Deborah
deborah@summerlands.com
Sat Aug 12 12:10:17 2000
WHAT WE SEE*p*A long time ago a baby was born to poor parents. His future*br*looked bleak as he grew to see a life of dreariness and poverty*br*before him. He joined the army as a common soldier and was*br*wounded so severely that he never regained the use of his left*br*arm.*p*He later failed to find decent employment and, on two occasions,*br*was sent to debtor's prison. He continued to have brushes with*br*the law and struggled just to survive.*p*But, despite the severity of his life, he never let go of his*br*dream... to write a book. In it he told a beautiful story which*br*welled from heart's deepest dreams and yearnings and has moved*br*generations of people the world over ever since. It is about a*br*man who saw the world differently than everyone else. Though*br*created in suffering, it is an inspiring tale of irrepressible*br*hope. His story has been put to music and film, translated into*br*numerous languages and remains a literary classic after some 400*br*years.*p*The author was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and the book, DON*br*QUIXOTE DE LA MANCHA (1615; translated by P. Motteux).*p*Perhaps Cervantes was speaking for himself when he penned the*br*words for Don Quixote's epitaph:*p*    "Nor has his death the world deceiv'd*br*    Less than his wondrous life surpriz'd;*br*    For if he like a madman liv'd*br*    At least he like a wise one dy'd."*p*And perhaps it was Cervantes himself who believed, as did his*br*character, that the world "sees people as they are -- I see them*br*as they can be!" For Cervantes may never have accomplished such a*br*magnificent work had he not seen some potential within himself*br*that was hidden from the rest of the world. He knew, and has*br*taught others ever since, that great truth: what we see will*br*come to be.*p*Some see situations as they are, others as they can be. Some see*br*people as they are, others as they can be. And some see*br*themselves as they are, others as they can be.*p*But when we look beyond the present reality, dismal as it may*br*seem, and set our sights upon the best that is within a situation*br*or a human being, then, too, what we see will come to be. And*br*we'll know the power of hope.
YLSS 8-10-00:  Heroes Among Us
Deborah
186
Thu Aug 10 15:31:20 2000

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