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!
Don Quijote de La Mancha (Miguel de Cervantes)

“Somewhere in la Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing.”

He decided to go out and fight for life as it should be, not as it is. He was totally committed. The world thought he was mad. But when live itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies?

We are at sea. Somewhere between Ireland, France, and Spain, in a place whose name I do not care to remember. Heading for Bilbao where we will arrive in the morning at around 6am. We will then drive to Santander, stay there for a few nights, move on to San Sebastián looking over one of the most beautiful coves in the world, La Concha, and enjoying the most exciting cuisine to be found anywhere.

Heading towards Spain made me think of what is considered to be the first novel ever to be written in modern times. Miguel de Cervantes wrote his more than 1,000 pages long portrait of Don Quijote over 400 years ago. About the man who fought against the windmills. The man for whom Liberty is one of the most precious gifts which heaven has bestowed on man; with it we cannot compare the treasures which the earth contains or the sea conceals; for liberty, as for honour, we can and ought to risk our lives; and, on for the other hand, captivity is the greatest evil that can befall man.

For Don Quijote, only imagining great things wasn’t enough. He was convinced one had to commit to them. He believed in the purity of his goals, irrespective of their disastrous consequences. To him, commitment is an absolute necessity.

Pádraig is free. His has found liberty, free from the constraints society and the health system wanted to impose on him. He travels, on a ferry, to Spain where his senses will be tested by the most beautiful smells, views, and tastes one could imagine.

He will not be held captive by restrictive risk assessments and carefully planned health and safety reviews, who even see the footpath outside his house as a threat (honest to God).

To surrender dreams — this may be madness.

He is fully committed to live his life as it should be.