Seeking the Quest

The Quest. We’ve all heard about this concept for forever, it seems, and it never ceases to fascinate us.  We throng to movies to see it in front of us—Star Wars, Superman, Batman, Dunkirk, Indiana Jones—to see our hero confront his or her worst fear, and to walk through that fire burned clean of the inessential.  Victory in battle, on land, the high seas, or in the air, is the stuff of dreams. Even Cervantes Don Quixote, tilting at windmills, championing Aldonza—who, in reality, is less than the ‘Lady’ in his mind—keeps to his quest, whether you read the pages of the novel, or see it sung in front of you on a Broadway musical stage, and we are moved by the dedication, the steadfast refusal to quit, to say ‘enough,’ and to move on to a life less stressful and demanding.  We face quests in our life all the time, though. Perhaps not as important as saving western democracy and freedom on the beaches of Normandy, or protecting the planet from those who would subvert it for their own selfish purposes. Quests like bringing up children to be good, kind, and responsible adults. Like starting a food drive/bank when you realize there are people going hungry in your area. Getting through high school or college, and the requirements necessary to do so.  While these last few may seem to many to be the stuff of ordinary life, that is where quests are born in many cases. Sometimes fueled by the deep thought that what you’re doing with your life is what you really ought to be doing, because you do certain things better than others in particular areas, and feel you might be able to use those talents or gifts to a larger concern than simply getting through life, paying the bills, taking a vacation, and making it to retirement…to do…what?  Which brings us to the fact that finding a quest is often a search for a higher meaning in life. To do bigger things, or more significant things, that go far beyond what your individual life might be able to bring to a situation. Or, I would argue, to open yourself up to new challenges, perhaps new difficulties, that you never thought you would ever need to deal with, let alone figure out how to negotiate them and the situations they create. And sometimes in this case, rather than sit and think of the pros and cons of engagement, it’s best to simply jump, and, as a favorite song of mine encourages, ‘keep your heart above your head, and your eyes wide open.’  I never thought I would do anything like hike the Appalachian Trail, but all of a sudden, the opportunity to represent my company for a week doing just that, is not only attractive, but is drawing me in more each day. The situation is just right, I have time to prepare before the actual event, shoring up the knowledge I might lack now, practice things that might be useful on this trip, and talking to those who have done it to glean tips, tricks, and hacks that could make it not only a bit easier for a novice, but downright enjoyable.  And so ‘into the breach’ to borrow Shakespeare’s words, for the first time in my case, to explore new worlds, and begin to see life—my own and that of others—from a new perspective, and perhaps contribute to someone else’s understanding of this journey called life.