Inspiration Within

"A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile
the moment a single man contemplates it,
bearing within him the image of a cathedral."  

Antoine De Saint-Exupery
French Author, Aviator

 Antoine de Saint-Exupery is the author of a simple yet phenomenal book called The Little Prince.  I read this book my junior year in high school in its original french.  Now I am certain my love is largely due to my French teacher who helped me see beyond just a simple story and into the subtext.  I have two well loved copies of the novel in my home.  

In the novel, a prince of an astroid, b-612, which is the size of a house, has three volcanoes (two active, and one dormant) and a rose, among various other objects.  

After some disenchantment with the rose, the prince leaves home.  His journey takes him to earth.  He wanders full of loneliness.  When he comes upon a rose garden, he gets depressed.  He realizes the Rose he loved on his home planet is common and not unique. Therefore, he is not a great prince. 

While in the state of weeping a fox approaches.  The prince wishes for companionship in the fox, but the fox says he must be tamed. The prince succeeds in taming the fox, and according to the fox; "You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."  The wise fox also explains to the prince that his rose really is unique and special, because he loves her and has tamed her.

 There is other insightful messages the prince learns and shares along his journey.  But today I have been thinking about the rose loved by the prince. 

There are many stories out there.  The world is flooded by them.  This does not make them common or unneeded.  We are writers because we are taming our stories.  They are unique and they are loved.  You are responsible for the talent with which you have been blessed.  Use it wisely. Craft your stories and share them.  Where one may see a rock and walk by, you may craft a cathedral.