Don Quixote

Yesterday our department at work participated in our annual deprtmental retreat.  Traditionally the day consists of several hours of discussions, workshops, or meetings, a nice meal, and some sort of activity.  Yesterday we were treated to a delicious lunch and a private showing of the 1972 movie, The Man of La Mancha.  But before all of this we participated in a discussion centered on the book, Beyond Illusions, The Magic of Positive Perception, by Brad Barton.  The author, a magician, has written his book telling readers about how not to be deceived, and about how much our reality is based upon our perceptions.  Mostly the book is about how to understand our problems, thus allowing us to discover solutions to problems.   

Chapter two is titled "The Magical Man of La Mancha" and tells of Don Quixote, the character created by the author Don Miguel Cervantes.  Don Quixote was an older eccentric landowner who perceived himself as a noble knight whose destiny was to fight evil and defend truth and justice.  Quixote's perception of himself and the world was quite different from the reality experienced by the people he encountered in his adventures.  He saw greatness in everyone he encountered, including the scullery maid that Quixote saw as a high born lady of virtue and beauty.  At first the maid protests his exclamations of her worth, but ultimately she gives in to his perceptions, and begins to see herself, and to actually become, the Lady Dulcenia.  Quixote was able to change Dulcenia's perception of herself, and thus he was able to change her reality.

I have not actually read Don Quixote myself, but I like Brad Barton's assertions that through our actions and words we are able to change other people's perceptions of themselves, and by so doing we can actually change their reality.  Have you had a Don Quiote in your life?  Has someone influenced the way that you see yourself and actually helped you to become a better person?  Have you ever been able to be a Don Quixote to someone else?  I'm sure that there have been many people who have been a Don Quixote to me, but perhaps my greatest Don Quixote has been my DH.  I can feel from his words and his actions that he perceives me to be a woman of worth, and has helped me to have a self confidence that I didn't have before he knew me and asked me to be his wife.  Thank you DH.  I love and appreciate my own Don Quixote.   ♥♥♥