By
Craig Ruvere
It’s
been a long time since I’ve sat down to enjoy the wonderment of children’s
literature. I suppose as we grow older and the world of far-off, fairy tale
lands are tainted by reality, our need and believability in such fiction
disappears.
 |
| Craig Ruvere |
As we
continue to age, I think our child-like imagination and power to dream
endlessly decreases. Perhaps this is one of the many reasons why children’s
literature is no longer applicable to adults – as we’re not always able to
suspend our disbeliefs.
And
while the book, The Little Prince,
which was written by Antoine De Saint-Exupery in 1943, was first conceived as a
children’s story, it has come to be loved by adults all over the world – and
I’m one of them.
I was
first introduced to The Little Prince
after reading the following passage: “Years ago, a friend gave me a piece of
calligraphy which I have always kept in my office. It’s a quotation from The Little Prince which reads,
“L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.” What is essential is invisible to
the eyes.” Fred Rogers
“What
is essential is invisible to the eyes.” It sounded like the perfect mantra for
all of mankind and prompted a visit to my local library so I could obtain a
copy and experience this timeless treasure in its translated form. But as many
will understand, life often gets in the way and I never did find the time to
meander over to my town library. And before long my desire to read The Little Prince faded.
Years
later, while sifting through the shelves of a local bookstore, I once again
stumbled upon the The Little Prince
while looking for an unrelated text. I immediately remembered that quote as I
clutched the tiny book in both my hands – thinking about how Rogers and
countless others have been touched by the values and teachings of that little
prince.
And so
without hesitation, I added the book to my literary collection. I assumed at
first it would be written in a style geared for a much younger audience, but
halfway through the first page I was pleasantly surprised – entertained as an
adult while remembering the simplicity of just being a child.
Throughout
the story, as we travel the galaxy with the little prince, the quote which
first inspired me to read this book in the first place is echoed time and time
again. We discover the great importance of looking beneath the surface to find
the real truth; the real meaning; the real person that lives in all of us.
We
come to understand that adults such as myself have a difficult time seeing with
one’s heart instead of with one’s eyes – preoccupied with wealth, power and
technology and all together missing the most important things in life such as
unconditional love and companionship.
The
more I read, the more I became aware that children truly know how to live as
the little prince expressed numerous times. It seems only adults look past the
small wonders this world has to offer – rushing from place to place in search
of something bigger and better. Unfortunately, it seems we’re always searching
for the wrong things, which leaves us unhappy, despondent and depressed –
rushing off to the next place to continue our search.
In
short, superficiality affords us a life with little meaning or substance. It’s
only when we realize “what is essential is invisible to the eyes” that we begin
to see clearly what’s ultimately important.
The
young mind of a child, while impressionable, lives in a world of hope and
wonder; dreams and imagination. They are influenced more by who a person truly
is on the inside and how someone makes them feel than what they represent on
the outside.
Children
often play pretend when they’re young – taking on the roles of adults all
around them. Maybe someday adults will realize there are benefits to sometimes
thinking like a child.
No comments:
Post a Comment