My serendipitous encounter with The Little Prince
I’ve just finished reading The Little Prince. What a charming story!
It reminded me of what Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is staying an artist when you grow up.”
It also reminded me of what my reasons are for becoming a permanent traveller: To experience new and worldly things for self-improvement.
The Little Prince in the story travels from planet to planet, learning about different kinds of people. Not only that, he and the narrator are enlightened throughout their adventures by introspection – something I value highly.
I was also pleasantly surprised by what other parts of the story resonated with me. Even the things on his planet reminded me of significant elements of my life. The flower, the baobas, the volcanoes – including the extinct one, and The Little Prince – who left. And of course, who could forget the characters he meets on various planets: The king, the conceited man, the tippler, the businessman, the lamplighter and the geographer, and the narrator on Earth. All of whom I see in myself. Some I’ve conquered; some on the way of conquering; and some not yet touched.
The timing of my reading of the book couldn’t have come at a better time. The “taming” bit and the famous quote, “On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux” were insightful reminders. Reminders for ideas that were steadily fading in me.
This reading and connection wouldn’t have been possible without my fortunate stroke of serendipity when I had bought my Moleskin.
The funny thing was: I was reminded to read the novel when I pulled it out for the first time to make a very quick sketch. Something I hadn’t done in many years.
