Historical Lessons from Pamplona

This entry may live up to the ramblings part of my blog name.

History continues to teach us lessons, and a month or so ago when the Tanner boys started sending pictures of the most recent "Running of the Bulls" in Pamplona, Spain, my initial reaction helped me quickly conjure up an unqualified, over-generalized lesson of my own: History continues to teach us that the brave are insane and the cowards -- who avoid such activities -- are completely rational.

My initial reaction was, not surprisingly: "What in the world would possess a rational human being to do something like that? That's insane."

But then I had more of a chance to think about it. My second thought: "It's really about perspective...Most great people, at least in some limited way, are always viewed as a little off."

Use history as a precedent and think about it for a second. The Macedonian soldiers must have thought that Alexander the Great was crazy when he said something like: "Instead of being content with our spoils, let's cross the straits and kick some Persian A next, shall we?" Most British probably thought Winston Churchill was some deranged idealist when he refused to surrender, even though Britain was the only thing stopping the Nazis from conquering Europe. And yet they were great, because they had the courage to believe in themselves and instilled that courage in others.

Granted, these are extreme historical figures. But if you'll allow me to philosophize for a second, **stepping up on soap box** I would posit that all of us striving to improve ourselves, to succeed and to enjoy life, are a little crazy in our own way. Understand that when I use 'crazy', I use it loosely and synonymously with dedicated, bold, adventurous, daring, driven, risk-taking. Some universal examples that we can all relate to? I thought you'd never ask.

You have to be a little crazy to:
*...dream and to have goals in a world that perpetually bombards you with "can't" and "never";
*...pursue hobbies you truly enjoy, even though to an outsider they may not seem all that 'practical';
*...as an individual, completely trust another person and let yourself fall in love with them;
*...squeeze the joys out of life when the world with all its problems seem to be crumbling around you;
*...have children when it would make "so much more sense" to keep all that money those children are going to cost for yourself;
*...be great -- and I'm not talking about conquer-the-Persian-Empire great. I'm talking about the personal greatness in which you become the person you truly want to be, instead of taking the easy route and settling for mediocrity.

So the always-rational-people will never be great because they lack the courage to face risks and possible failure. They will never have stories to tell, nor a legacy to leave behind. Possessing common sense is one of those things that separates us from the animals; but I would say an equally great gift is the courage to, at times, go against common sense in order to either better yourself and/or the world around you. You need to be a little crazy to have courage, and you need to have courage to be great.

I tip my Henry Weinhard's to all of you who do things that strangers would sometimes term to be against "better judgment."

And if you've read this far, I tip my Henry's to you as well.

**End soapboxing**