But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart.
Inside this supremely simple statement rests a message that finds a way, with serendipity, straight to one’s heart. This story was consumed in less than twenty-four hours but has the power to supply inspiration and wisdom for a lifetime.
Mixing the components of a fable, fairy tale, and moral lessons, it reminds me of a simpler time. Before logic, responsibility, and social norms worked its way into the equation of life, there was something different: imagination, creativity, naivety.
I am most definitely an adult, because reading that last word, naivety, makes me cringe with forced expectations. Naivety is supposed to be a “bad” thing. It is looked down upon as something that needs to be purged from our daily lives. We should be wise and prudent and responsible. But it is through the course of these malformed thoughts that we lose a connection with our inner child, with that innate sense of curiosity that makes anything possible, with that sense of discovery that helps us appreciate the scent of freshly mown grass, the taste of a wild raspberry picked along a wooded path, with the indescribable joy of a flashing firefly in our cupped hands on a summer evening.
More than anything, this story reminds me of what it means to be a child, and how we could and should return to that time in our lives as a gateway to our future. The Little Prince never once, over the course of the entire story, allowed a question of his to go unanswered. He kept pushing, through all the tension and resistance, to find an answer. He had an insatiable curiosity and desire to know, a very grown-up thing to do. However, he did so with the heart of a child as his guide.
What a wonderful combination, don’t you think? The wisdom of experience mixed with the youthful curiosity and heart of a child as your guide. Each of the tiny chapters in this book is the perfect bedtime companion, to be read over and over again, as a mindful reflection and reminder of how we can choose to embrace that childhood naivety, in the best way possible, to live a life that we don’t see with our eyes, but rather feel with our hearts.
Dave’s Rating: ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️
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