What is Really Important?

A couple of months ago, I finished reading The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and have really enjoyed it. What an amazing book! In The Little Prince, Saint-Exupery explains that what is really important is invisible. In the end, the matters of consequence (i.e. buying lots of things, worrying about the way we look, making the most money out of everyone in our circles, having the nicest car, etc.) that many people worry about are not at all important.
   
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”  
   
The Little Prince tells of the travels of a little boy, the prince, who lives on Asteroid B-612. When a beautiful kind of flower that the Little Prince has never seen before, a rose, blooms on the Little Prince's asteroid, the prince immediately falls in love with the beautiful flower. He took special pains to ensure her comfort and safety. However, the Prince was hurt by the flower's condescending vanity, and, thinking that she did not want him, left Asteroid B-612. After a series of interesting events, the prince landed on earth, where he met a pilot who was wrecked in the Sahara desert. After a few days, the Little Prince and the pilot (the author) get to know each other. The pilot especially learns a lot about the little prince, including his rose. When the pilot accidentally tells the Little Prince that with one bite, an unsuspecting sheep could eat his rose, the Prince realizes how much he really cares about his rose. The Little Prince sobs out:

""If some one loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars. He can say to himself, 'Somewhere, my flower is there . . .' But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened... And you think that is not important!""

Isn't that amazing? If some one loves a rose, it can make him happy just to look at the stars, because he knows his roseis out there. It is the invisible relationship between the rose and the Prince that is so important.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."

The Little Prince slowly begins to understand that his relationship with his rose was much more than putting a screen over her at night, and watering her carefully, it was a real love and care that they both had developed for each other. It was not that the screens and watering didn't matter, in fact, they developed those bonds. They were needed to form the Prince and Rose's invisible relationship. But the relationship was what was truly important.

Later in the book, we see that the Little Prince has discovered that his rose is, well, not quite as unique as he thought she was. In fact, there many gardens that are full of roses just like his. But are those roses just like his?

At first, the Little Prince was devastated to find that his rose was not the only one of her kind, and that he was not quite so rich as he thought himself to be, but he begins to understand more completely the fact that what is important is invisible, when he meets a fox. From this fox, the Little Prince learns that it is not the rose's singularity that makes her so special, but the fact that he had tamed her, and that he had watered her, he had killed the caterpillars that climbed her, he had set up a screen to block the drafts. It was the time that he had given for his rose that made her so special. The things that he had done for her had built a invisible relationship that was indestructible.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."

The stars are beautiful because of a flower that cannot be seen. The flower is beautiful because of time that has been given for her.

What is really important is invisible. It does not matter, in the end, whether or not our neighbors had a better car than us, our if we managed to always look "dressed to the nines" while in public, or if we owned a bigger house than anyone on the block. In the end, it is the moments given for those we love that matter. It is the cookies you made for a new neighbor when you could be updating your social media profile. It is the smile you gave a friend when you might be shopping for that new blouse you'll need for an upcoming event. It is the friendship you made with the lonely, the one without a friend. All those things build relationships with people, and relationships (though invisible) are the most important thing in this world. God sent us here for one purpose, to bring others to Him. The only way that we can do that is through relationships. What is really important can only be seen with the heart.

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”  

This has made such an impression on me that I cannot forget it. It is so scary to think that we might waste our whole lives seeking after things that don't really matter. In fact, this is so important to me, that I want to share it with everyone I meet! Please, please, please, take a little time to read this amazing book. It is relatively short and easy to read, and only requires a few minutes each day. You can find the text for free here (although, it really is better when you can hold it in your hands and underline your favorite quotes!) Thanks for stopping by!