My Fox and My rose

(Please read the post below first)

For a friend who recognises the sound of my footsteps,

Because of you, I have come to love the sound of the wind in the field of corn... what was ordinary is now special , because of the difference your presence made in my life..
And because I have made you my friend, mine, you are now unique in the world..

In yourself, you mattered more than all of the other roses put together, since it is you that I watered with time and thoughtful care; since it you that I placed under the glass dome for protection with prayers of love; since it is you whom I sheltered with the screen of my arms.
Since it is you that I listened to, when you laughed, or cried, or when you were simply being silent. Since it is you who is my rose.

The truth is, you have nurtured me, treasured me, protected me more than a rose can ever wished or desired, My little Prince.

The Fox and The Rose

The Little Prince

written and illustrated byAntoine de Saint Exupéry

translated from the French by Katherine Woods

21

It was then that the fox appeared.

"Good morning," said the fox.

"Good morning," the little prince responded politely, although when he turned around he saw nothing.

"I am right here," the voice said, "under the apple tree."

"Who are you?" asked the little prince, and added, "You are very pretty to look at."

"I am a fox," the fox said.

"Come and play with me," proposed the little prince. "I am so unhappy."

"I cannot play with you," the fox said. "I am not tamed."

"Ah! Please excuse me," said the little prince.

But, after some thought, he added:

"What does that mean--'tame'?"

"You do not live here," said the fox. "What is it that you are looking for?"

"I am looking for men," said the little prince. "What does that mean--'tame'?"

"Men," said the fox. "They have guns, and they hunt. It is very disturbing. They also raise chickens. These are their only interests. Are you looking for chickens?"

"No," said the little prince. "I am looking for friends. What does that mean--'tame'?"

"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. It means to establish ties."

"'To establish ties'?"

"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world . . ."

"I am beginning to understand," said the little prince. "There is a flower . . . I think that she has tamed me . . ."

"It is possible," said the fox. "On the Earth one sees all sorts of things."

"Oh, but this is not on the Earth!" said the little prince.

The fox seemed perplexed, and very curious.

"On another planet?"

"Yes."

"Are there hunters on that planet?"

"No."

"Ah, that is interesting! Are there chickens?"

"No."

"Nothing is perfect," sighed the fox.

But he came back to his idea.

"My life is very monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat . . ."

The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.

"Please--tame me!" he said.

"I want to, very much," the little prince replied. "But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand."

"One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox. "Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me . . ."

"What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.

"You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me--like that--in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day . . ."

The next day the little prince came back.

"It would have been better to come back at the same hour," said the fox. "If, for example, you come at four o'clock in the afternoon, then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o'clock, I shall already be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you . . . One must observe the proper rites . . ."
"What is a rite?" asked the little prince.

"Those also are actions too often neglected," said the fox. "They are what make one day different from other days, one hour from other hours. There is a rite, for example, among my hunters. Every Thursday they dance with the village girls. So Thursday is a wonderful day for me! I can take a walk as far as the vineyards. But if the hunters danced at just any time, every day would be like every other day, and I should never have any vacation at all."

So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near--

"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."

"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you . . ."

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.

"Yes, that is so," said the fox.

"Then it has done you no good at all!"

"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields." And then he added:

"Go and look again at the roses. You will understand now that yours is unique in all the world. Then come back to say goodbye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret."
The little prince went away, to look again at the roses.

"You are not at all like my rose," he said. "As yet you are nothing. No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world."

And the roses were very much embarassed.

"You are beautiful, but you are empty," he went on. "One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you--the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or ever sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose.

And he went back to meet the fox.

"Goodbye," he said.

"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."

"It is the time I have wasted for my rose--" said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.

"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose . . ."

"I am responsible for my rose," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

We deserve Happiness..

I believe that everyone deserves the happiness that all the world can contain. This world is really large, so it can definitely contain all the happiness that we all need to fill everyday of our lives. However, it amazes me how little people believe that of themselves today. It seems a strange statement but we see it all around us today..

We postpone our happiness, we overwork today to enjoy tomorrow, postpone that holiday, scrimp and save up for that wedding, forfeit precious time for earthly treasures. Please do not get me wrong; I am not in any way implying that work is bad, or that we should spend like there is no tomorrow. I totally believe in having a wholesome work attitude as well as saving for a comfortable retirement and a financially secured future. (I have a whole career to prove it *chuckle *)

However, I am proposing in this post, (that is all is it- a proposal, you are not required to agree with it, but however urged to consider it) that most of us don’t really believe that we deserve to be truly happy. I’m not saying we don’t want to be, fact is we want to be, we have spent the last few millenniums searching for the ‘secret to happiness’- We just don’t really believe that we deserve to be happy.

We have been bombarded by family, culture, society from childhood to adolescence and then adulthood to believe that suffering is noble, and happiness is something vague that belongs the mediocre. It has been subtle, we may talk like we know that happiness is truly important, but we always live what we believe. And along with the children that we’re supposed to teach and the young people we’ve been tasked to nurture, I look around to find a society where a overworked lifestyle is secretly admired, rest is looked upon with a little guilt, where you have to ‘earned’ your right to having a good time and busyness is only inches away from being crowned.

May I suggest that you consider the world- the wonder of creation, the beauty of individuality, and the exhilarating thrill of living life; from the moment you entered this world, you have a right- Happiness. You don’t have to earn it, you deserve i

Sterotypes

We live in a world of stereotypes. Be it because of our differences or varying experiences, we sometimes tint our glasses with a shade of color that would make looking at the world more bearable (that sounds way too cynical) I mean comfortable. And as long as it doesn’t hurt any one, stereotypes I believe are justifiable and harmless.

I have a theory that I’ve come up with in watching the demographics patterned world around me in the last decade or so - The damsel looking, pitiable and sweet girls, the kind that look like they need some kind of rescuing appeal more to guys. They are the ones who’ll be snapped up first. Recently, I’ve come to believe that that theory may not be completely true. I figured, I owe it to all the men who have been ‘falsely’ accused by me to be ego-pricks and shallow minded in the past and myself, to at least adjust it.

Here is how it started, I was watching a Korean Drama series with one of my longest friend one night when I found out that the lead actor of that is the biggest name in Korea now. The thing is, I cannot figure out why?

He doesn’t look that handsome, in fact his rival looks manlier any time. In fact, he is ordinary looking- small sized, a little short and really fair. That description pretty much differs from our typical “ tall, dark and handsome” hunk ideal. But with a sparkle in his boyish slit eyes, and adorable sunshine dimpled smile, he is the biggest name in Korean pop scene today.

This is an interesting observation, why is he so popular? I would think that girls usually go for someone macho looking, someone who look like they can take care of them. I think however that the reverse is true, deep down in every person’s heart, there is a desire- they want to be needed. The pitiable look appeals because then it will seem like “I need to protect her or He needs my love”. It is as true for men as much as it is for the ladies. It is true not only for the opposite sex, but also for people of the same sex although outward appearance would most definitely apply more for the case of the former.

My previous theory included only the men, but come to think about it, this thing unisex. It is a human thing, it does not only isolate the male species. I suppose this can make all the men who feel that they have been unfairly accused feel better? I’m not sure, but have certainly done my best to correct my sterotype.

it is v simple..

I started faithblog with my friend, she among many others who feels that this might be an interesting and engaging activity. While I named it something else, she decided that hers would be called 'it is v simple..'. I didn't express my views then but the thought that was swimming through my mind is that- "This is Complicated!"

The paradox of it is that I find that blog title to be really of depth. The first evidence of this in her phrase is the ".." she leaves behind. If "IT" were really as simple as seems, then why doesn't she leave out the ".." to display clarity of thought, or finish the phrase with a "." to exhibit a conclusive statement? It is her ".." that made me pause to think of the implications behind this phrase whether she warranted it a not.

If the simplicity can be easily obtained, does it than mean that the matter is merely elementary? The next question to ask would most naturally be, what is the 'it'? Most people would naturally assumed that she is here referring to life, the living of life, the matters concerning life, issues surrounding living.

So in linking one to the other, is it possible then that all that I mentioned above, the possible 'IT's are merely elementary or single principled, (if I may use the word) 'activities'? While I do not deny that there may be '7 steps to Getting it right in Life' or 'The 21 essentials of Fruitful Living' but can Life really be that simple? Is it really a bunch of formulae and principles? If you get the keys, then you can walk through the door of life engraved "Arrived" or "Success"? That I have to say really simplify things by a whole lot, all we have to do is to look for the Biography of a Person whom you consider 'got IT together' identify the contributing factors of this person's successful living and replicate your life following this principles, mathematics is timeless.

I have a another friend who, whenever I respond with a compliment or a positive remark when asked my opinion on various matters, would sit there with a straight face tapping his fingers. I would ask "What?", and he would say, "I'm waiting", which would be followed by my reply " what do you mean?". He would say "I am waiting for your 3 lettered BUT".. I can't possibly disappoint him in event he does read this post, can I....? IT can be very simple, BUT I have to ask, Is IT?

I have to suggest a really postmodern opinion - IT is really subjective. It is. I believe that in this instance, this perspective has to outlive culture, times and age because we are discussing about IT. (really a modernist view) Regardless of what you think, Life is intended to be unique, dynamic, and much too volatile to be put in a box, way too huge to be summarized into a sentence. IT comprises of a journey, the process of reaching there too is part of IT too contrary to popular belief.

Many times, we exclaim "This is Life!" at spas, breathtaking scenic spots on a hot getaway, in the arms of love ones, after exhilarating shopping sprees, with cheese, wine overlooking a beautiful sunset and even in hospitals when you hold a new born in your hands. Please do not misunderstand me, I do not deny, "They are Life" BUT to imagine that we think that is all there is to Life, if the objective of each Life is to "reach there", "succeed" to "finish" then what huge other parts we are ignoring.

To share the grief with a deceased family, to learn what is right by making mistakes, to gain by losing, to be hurt, to feel pain and even death which leads you on to eternity, they are all Life in itself. Life is all encompassing, even the most distasteful flavor of regret, and it leads to this next story about myself before I conclude the post.

I have some friends who believe that I suffer from "other people's food is better than mine" syndrome. What happens to me at meal time, is that I'll take an incredibly long time to decide my pick on the menu; and when the food is served, I will most definitely always be regretful about my order and feel that their food is a better choice. I will then invariably ignore my own order and pinch on theirs more than occasionally for the rest of the meal. I have attempted to decipher my own psychology in this matter more than once; I have attempted to preempt this behavior by ordering the alternate choice. Regardless of what I do, unless everyone on the table eats the same food, there will often be a bitter taste of regret at such instances.

What does this story have to do with what I'm discussing? Lets start by looking at what is the point in discussing this after establishing that IT is subjective in the first place? In displaying various brief moments of my inner thought life, I discovered I am missing something, aren't I? and just about now, another rude awakening realization knocked again, I really don't know about IT, do I?". My answer is, No, I don't. Together with the 6 billion other human beings out there, I unashamedly publish that I don't know about Life. It is too magnificent to be comprehended. If that is the case, then isn’t it coincidentally way to straight forward? Maybe my more discerning friend already had a sense of this – that’s why she titled "IT is v simple.."

Back to the earlier story, as I am typing this, the familiar bitter distaste of regret is already beginning to linger as I gaze enviously across the table at my friend’s platter only to look at my own choice with disdain. Is this a mere phenomenon of my unexplainable idiosyncrasy? I cannot conclude.

the beginning

Everything has a begining.. I suppose I can consider this to be an feeble attempt to experience my alternate childhood dream of being a columnist.
I realised that everyone would at least in their first entry try to give a reason for starting a blog. It is a way to validate their site, persuade themselves that the time and effort in establishing this facility is worth the while if not rewarding.
I have done the same with my first post.
All i hope from this would be that certain buried expressions and reflections would be 'published' and remembered by at least and most importantly- Me.