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Showing posts from August, 2024

Thoughts on Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes - so far...

I'm 600 pages into Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, and boy, what a journey it has been. In Chapter XVIII of Part 2, I came across the idea that Don Quixote became a knight-errant because he wanted others to believe in knight-errantries. It broke his heart as he grew into adulthood that he never encountered any knights like those from the tales of the past, so he took it upon himself to become one. This realization made me think deeply about the idea of Don Quixote himself. While much of his behavior is silly and can be harmful to those around him, he simply wanted the world to believe in magic, valiant knights who save the land, and the nobility of duty and love. What a burden he placed upon himself, and although most people just brushed him off as crazy, the few whose eyes he managed to make sparkle with wonder were certainly touched by his vision. He brought them out of the normalcy we've all grown accustomed to. And all it took was just one "Sancho Panza" to be

Arrogance: The Root of Our Suffering

As I cycled to work on a crisp morning, the familiar route took an unexpected turn. Stopped at a traffic light behind a cluster of motorcycles, I settled in for what I assumed would be a brief wait. However, the dance of lights before us began to take on a peculiar rhythm. Green became orange, then red for the opposing lane. The perpendicular street had its moment of glory before surrendering to red once more. To my bewilderment, the cycle repeated, bypassing our lane entirely. I glanced around, noticing the darkening expressions of fellow commuters. Muffled curses drifted through partially open windows as frustration mounted. Time was on my side that day, so I observed with patience. Yet, as the pattern persisted, even my composure began to waver. It was then that my gaze fell upon an inconspicuous cut-out section of the road – a modest 3 by 1-meter rectangle that often escapes notice. The motorcycles, courteous in their positioning, had left this crucial space unoccupied. Enlightenme