Chapter I
ONCE WHEN I WAS six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called
True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest. It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing. In the book it said: "Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing it. After that they are not able to move , and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion." I pondered deeply, then, over the adventures of the jungle. And after some work with a colored pencil I succeeded in making my first drawing. My Drawing Number One. It looked like this:
I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups, and asked them whether the drawing frightened them. But they answered: "Frighten? Why should anyone be frightened by a hat?"
My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. But since the grown-ups were not able to understand it, I made another drawing: I drew the inside of the boa constrictor, so that the grown-ups could see it clearly. They always need to have things explained. My Drawing Number Two looked like this:
The grown-ups' response, this time, was to advise me to lay aside my drawings of boa constrictors, whether from the inside or the outside, and devote myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic and grammar. That is why, at the age of six, I gave up what might have been a magnificent career as a painter. I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.
So then I chose another profession, and learned to pilot airplanes. I have flown a little over all parts of the world; and it is true that geography has been very useful to me. At a glance I can distinguish China from Arizona. If one gets lost in the night, such knowledge is valuable.
In the course of this life I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence. I have lived a great deal among grown-ups. I have seen them intimately, close at hand. And that hasn't much improved my opinion of them.
Whenever I met one of them who seemed to me at all clear-sighted, I tried the experiment of showing him my Drawing Number One, which I have always kept. I would try to find out, so, if this was a person of true understanding. But, whoever it was, he, or she, would always say: "That is a hat."
Then I would never talk to that person about boa constrictors, or primeval forests, or stars. I would bring myself down to his level. I would talk to him about bridge, and golf, and politics, and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such a sensible man.
Chapter II
SO I LIVED my life alone, without anyone that I could really talk to, until I had an accident with my plane in the Desert of Sahara, six years ago...
The Little Prince
Written & Drawn By
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
To me, this is the loveliest tale ever told--- The Little Prince. There are many small lessons that speak volumes in this book as the Little Prince leaves his home and travels from planet to planet, eventually landing on Earth. Discovering characters along the way that leads him to the answer of his search... a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
I thought about this because a year ago today, I traveled to Europe with my mother and company to celebrate her one year remission from cancer. Her battle with cancer led her and all of us who surrounded her during that time, to always remember the the lessons of love and our responsibility for one another (John 13:34), and to live the life God meant for us to have (Romans 8:11). So, when I am busy with daily things that I may think are "matters of consequence", I remind myself that they are mere idleness (Colossians 3:2). At the end of the day, my goal is to have the peace of mind that I have served a purpose, whether that would be my service to my husband, family, friends, workplace, and home. We are a walking testimony of God's love. (Haven't read the book? Pick it up and you'll know what I mean...)
To Mama Delia, Mom Mila, Sis Jessica, Auntie Luz, and Cousin Delsa: Happy One Year Anniversary! You made this trip so wonderful and fun. A special "Thank You" to my husband Patrick, and brothers Kuya Dohn and Paul for your support in our "Mother and Daughter" vacation. Enjoy the collage of pictures... Photos taken by yours truly and Delsa.
