The Little Prince

I’m not sure  when I first read Antioine De Saint-Exupery’s  book, The Little Prince, but it has stayed with me since high school.   This month, I re-read the fable and was struck with new messages.  

Somewhere along the way I had become a grown-up, not exactly the worst version portrayed  by the small prince from Asteroid B-612,  but elements fit. Filled with life’s responsibilities, I often took myself too seriously worrying about things that really didn’t matter in the long run.  My silly and often crazy self only peeks out with my grandkids and best friends. I vow to remedy that!!!!

 Misunderstood from an early age, Saint-Exupery stopped drawing.  His picture of a boa constrictor with a huge hump, clearly was an elephant.  No one saw his invisible image.      The author’s artistic dreams were dashed. He took his imagination into the skies and became a pilot, philosopher, and a writer.   

I too was told at an early age that my singing voice and my art were not up to par. I veered and studied sociology and political science.  Later, I pursued writing but only acknowledged that I was a writer, after I had raised a family and had various careers.   To this day, it’s rare that I sing out loud, but sometimes in the shower  I let go and belt out a song, usually old tunes. In my retirement, I ventured into painting watercolor. My renderings evoke a story or sentiment, not necessarily talent.

I hadn’t realized that The Little Prince not only talked about imagination, but the essence of love.  Taming, getting to know a plant, a person, or an animal, tethered you forever with giving and caring. In return you knew this being intimately,  and this enriched your heart.  One could never be too busy with business, or seriousness, when a tamed being was involved. The value lay within, invisible to the eye but held in the heart.  

Saint-Exupery  wrote of the love for a rose— an unusual flower to the little prince. He feels a great sense of sadness when he discovers that his rare flower was common to others on another planet.   The little prince learned that because he watered the rose, protected it  from the sheep and sun, his rose was unique; one of a kind connected to him.   

Saint-Exupery was an environmentalist before his time, a lover of life, adventurer, and great storyteller.   He lived a short life dying in a plane crash in the desert at age forty-four. For me his thoughts and story live forever.   Like the stars that remind us of the little princes’ laughter and the memories of all our loves and connections.

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