Such glorious faith as fills your limpid eyes,
Dear little friend of mine, I never knew.
All-innocent are you, and yet all-wise.
(For heaven’s sake, stop worrying that shoe!)
You look about, and all you see is fair;
This mighty globe was made for you alone.
Of all the thunderous ages, you’re the heir.
(Get off the pillow with that dirty bone!)
A skeptic world you face with steady gaze;
High in young pride you hold your noble head;
Gayly you meet the rush of roaring days.
(Must you eat puppy biscuit on the bed?)
Lancelike your courage, gleaming swift and strong,
Yours the white rapture of a wingèd soul,
Yours is a spirit like a May-day song.
(God help you, if you break the goldfish bowl!)
“Whatever is, is good,” your gracious creed.
You wear your joy of living like a crown.
Love lights your simplest act, your every deed.
(Drop it, I tell you—put that kitten down!)
You are God’s kindliest gift of all,—a friend.
Your shining loyalty unflecked by doubt,
You ask but leave to follow to the end.
(Couldn’t you wait until I took you out?)
Saint-Exupéry writes that it has been six years since the Little Prince left. He reflects on the Little Prince’s visit. He writes:
Sometimes I say to myself, “Once in a while we are distracted and that’s enough! He forgot, one night, the glass globe, or even the sheep came out silently during the night . . . . “ So the bells drown in tears!
Look at the sky. Ask yourself: “The sheep did or did not eat the flower?” And you will see how everything changes. And no grown up will ever understand that it is so important!
Note: We get so busy with the stuff of our life we forget to be distracted and discover the joys that surround us. The little Prince it’s always nearby, however, when we are too busy with all of our stuff we can’t see the little Prince and enjoy our conversations with him. Here’s hoping you find time in your life each day to be distracted and to discover the little Prince in your life.
Love is an endless mystery,
for it has nothing else to explain it.
I stopped by my market today. I checked my grocery list on my iPhone, grabbed hold of a small shopping cart, and headed in. Ten items in my basket, I qualified for the express line. It wasn’t open and all the self-checkout stations were full. Hold on, a regular check out lane was open and empty. I was quickly checked out and on my way home with my groceries. I felt good. Sometimes it’s the small things like getting in the right line, making all the traffic lights on the way to work or home, seeing your child beaming when he/she comes home with a good test score. Enjoy these moments, they’re all feel good moments.
I like to sing, usually off-key. I sing when I’m happy. I’m generally happy, so I sing a lot. I sing along with music I like and wonder why I never made it as a singer (when I listen to a recording, I know – LOL). I like to sing at church. If the hymn is one of my favorites, I kick it up a notch or two (I hope they do Amazing Grace this Sunday). Singing lifts my spirits, I imagine it lifts your spirits too.
Saint-Exupéry writes how the Little Prince and he travel through the desert looking for water. After a long and exhausting search, they find a well.
“Listen,” said the little Prince, “we awake this well and it sings. . . .”
I lifted the bucket to his lips. He drank, with eyes closed. It was sweet like a party. This water was something more than food. It was borne of the walk under the stars, the song of the pulley, the effort of my arms. It was good for the heart, as a gift. . . .
“Men in your planet,” said the little Prince, “cultivate 5000 roses in the same garden and they do not find what they are looking for . . . But the eyes are blind. They must look for it with the heart.”
Note: How much we take for granted as if we are entitled to it. Take, for example, the gift of the night sky. How often do we look up to the night sky and gaze at the stars with a sense of wonder and a grateful heart? How often do we contemplate the person we are in love with and are filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for this person who unconditionally loves us? When we discard our sense of entitlement and begin to look at everything as a gift we are filled with awe and our heart overflows with gratitude.
The sky was lit
by the splendor of the moon
So powerful
I fell to the ground
Your love
has made me sure
I am ready to forsake
this worldly life
and surrender
to the magnificence
of your Being
Saint-Exupéry writes in The Little Prince of the Little Prince meeting a switchman in a railroad yard. The Little Prince is curious about the trains arriving and leaving.
“They are in a hurry,” said the little Prince. “What are they looking for?”
“The locomotive man ignores himself,” said the switchman .
Then in the opposite direction, a second flashing light rumbled.
“Are they already coming back?” asked the little prince.
“They are not the same,” said the switchman. “This is an interchange.”
“Weren’t they happy where they were?”
“We are never happy where we are ,”said the switchman.
Note: This morning I was speaking to a person who was unhappy with their life. This person said they had no choice but to continue living their unhappy life. They were place bound and job bound. I suggested there were other options, but this person was blind to any other options other than her unhappiness. Where we are is where we are. In the moment that’s the only place we have to be. It may not be what we want but it is where we are. We have a choice of making our situation work for us or fighting against it. When we fight against it we expend needless energy we could to create a happier life.
