I am ephemeral
What is essential is invisible to the eye.
Last night, Tig and I were on the couch reading a book about artisian bread. She sat up, looked me straight in the eye, and the quote, "I am ephemeral." lanced through my brain. She stood up, turned around to climb down and flicked her tail on my face.
The Little Prince
On the Little Prince's planet
the flowers had always been very simple.
They had only one ring of petals;
they took up no room at all;
they were a trouble to nobody.
One morning they would appear in the grass, and
by night they would have faded peacefully away.
But one day, from a seed blown from no one knew where,
a new flower had come up;
and the little prince had watched very closely
over this small sprout which was not like any other small sprouts on her planet.
Then one morning, exactly at sunrise, the rose suddenly showed herself.
The little prince could not restrain her admiration:
"Oh! How beautiful you are!"
"Am I not?" the flower responded, sweetly.
"And I was born at the same moment as the sun . . . "
The little prince could guess easily enough that she was not any too modest
-- but how moving -- and exciting -- she was!
I soon learned to know this flower better.
"She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me.
But I was too young to know how to love her"
The Little Prince walked a long time in the desert
until he came to a garden full of roses.
They all resembled her rose.
And suddenly she was overcome with sadness.
Her flower had said that she was unique in all the world.
Here were 5000 other roses, all alike, in one garden!
"I thought I was rich
with a flower unique in all the world
whereas in fact all I had was a common rose
that doesn't make me a very great prince."
And, lying in the grass, she cried.
It is such a secret place, the land of tears.
A Fox happened upon the Little Prince.
"My life is very monotonous...
But if you tame me,
it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life...
One only understands the things that one tames..."
The Little Prince was puzzled.
"To you, I am just another fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.
You have no need of me.
I have no need of you, either.
To me, you are still just a little girl like a hundred thousand other little girls.
But if you tame me, we shall need each other.
To me, you will be unique.
I shall be unique to you."
"I'm beginning to understand,"
said the the Little Prince,
"There is a flower...
I think she has tamed me..."
Fox said, "Go and look at the roses again.
You will understand that your rose was indeed unique in all the world."
The Little Prince looked at the roses and said,
"None of you is at all like my rose.
As yet you are nothing.
Nobody has tamed you.
You have tamed no one.
You were like Fox before we tamed each other.
I made Fox my friend and now he is unique in all the world."
The Little Prince continued
"You are beautiful but you are empty.
One cannot die for you.
To be sure, an ordinary passer-by would beleive
that my very own rose looked just like you,
but she is far more important than all of you because
She is the one I watered.
She is the one I have placed under a glass dome.
She is the one I sheltered.
She is the one I have listened to complaining, boasting
or sometimes remaining silent.
Because she is my rose."
Fox told the Little Prince a secret.
"It is very simple.
It is only with one's heart that one can see clearly.
What is essential is invisible to the eye.
It is the time you lavished on your rose
which makes your rose so important.
Humans have forgotten this basic truth;
but you must not forget it.
For what you have tamed,
you become responsible forever.
You are responsible for your rose..."
Remember Fox.
One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets herself be tamed . . .
Last night, Tig and I were on the couch reading a book about artisian bread. She sat up, looked me straight in the eye, and the quote, "I am ephemeral." lanced through my brain. She stood up, turned around to climb down and flicked her tail on my face.
The Little Prince
On the Little Prince's planet
the flowers had always been very simple.
They had only one ring of petals;
they took up no room at all;
they were a trouble to nobody.
One morning they would appear in the grass, and
by night they would have faded peacefully away.
But one day, from a seed blown from no one knew where,
a new flower had come up;
and the little prince had watched very closely
over this small sprout which was not like any other small sprouts on her planet.
Then one morning, exactly at sunrise, the rose suddenly showed herself.
The little prince could not restrain her admiration:
"Oh! How beautiful you are!"
"Am I not?" the flower responded, sweetly.
"And I was born at the same moment as the sun . . . "
The little prince could guess easily enough that she was not any too modest
-- but how moving -- and exciting -- she was!
I soon learned to know this flower better.
"She cast her fragrance and her radiance over me.
But I was too young to know how to love her"
The Little Prince walked a long time in the desert
until he came to a garden full of roses.
They all resembled her rose.
And suddenly she was overcome with sadness.
Her flower had said that she was unique in all the world.
Here were 5000 other roses, all alike, in one garden!
"I thought I was rich
with a flower unique in all the world
whereas in fact all I had was a common rose
that doesn't make me a very great prince."
And, lying in the grass, she cried.
It is such a secret place, the land of tears.
A Fox happened upon the Little Prince.
"My life is very monotonous...
But if you tame me,
it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life...
One only understands the things that one tames..."
The Little Prince was puzzled.
"To you, I am just another fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.
You have no need of me.
I have no need of you, either.
To me, you are still just a little girl like a hundred thousand other little girls.
But if you tame me, we shall need each other.
To me, you will be unique.
I shall be unique to you."
"I'm beginning to understand,"
said the the Little Prince,
"There is a flower...
I think she has tamed me..."
Fox said, "Go and look at the roses again.
You will understand that your rose was indeed unique in all the world."
The Little Prince looked at the roses and said,
"None of you is at all like my rose.
As yet you are nothing.
Nobody has tamed you.
You have tamed no one.
You were like Fox before we tamed each other.
I made Fox my friend and now he is unique in all the world."
The Little Prince continued
"You are beautiful but you are empty.
One cannot die for you.
To be sure, an ordinary passer-by would beleive
that my very own rose looked just like you,
but she is far more important than all of you because
She is the one I watered.
She is the one I have placed under a glass dome.
She is the one I sheltered.
She is the one I have listened to complaining, boasting
or sometimes remaining silent.
Because she is my rose."
Fox told the Little Prince a secret.
"It is very simple.
It is only with one's heart that one can see clearly.
What is essential is invisible to the eye.
It is the time you lavished on your rose
which makes your rose so important.
Humans have forgotten this basic truth;
but you must not forget it.
For what you have tamed,
you become responsible forever.
You are responsible for your rose..."
Remember Fox.
One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets herself be tamed . . .