My Little Prince

        Though the Little Prince is seemingly a children’s book, it was one of the books being required by my college professor in English Literature for book review. I really love reading adventure stories like this. It conveys insightful philosophical principles of life and has

analysis of human nature. I take sympathy when the prince falls in love with a rose, who, although is able to return his love but cannot express it. 

        The story is believed to be drawn from the author’s flight crash experience in Sahara desert. The setting is in desolate desert where a pilot was stranded and met the Little Prince. The author Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900 - 1944) was a French journalist and aviator. Below is his famous quote from the book:

“It is only with the HEART that one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

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Life is a Fairy-tale

Church is a Hospital

As we know, church is not a building but a group of people who come together for worship or religious purposes - the body of Christ and Christ himself as the head.


In this little book KNOWING ASLAN, Thomas Williams viewed the church as “a hospital for sinners like ME. It is not a showplace for saint, but a place for forgiven people to help one another draw closer to God. Church is a safe place where we can lay our WEAKNESS on the table and get help from one another in resisting overwhelming temptations.”

Shakespeare in Love

    The “love at first sight” phenomenon exists because love has always been connected to the sight. Oftentimes, it brings confusion to the people who are in love.

    This is further confirmed by the romantic-comedy soliloquy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” of Shakespeare that has a scene of confusion, disorder, and irrational dream.

    
  A young woman Helena is lovesick because her beloved Demetrius has dumped her for falling in love with her friend Hermia.  Demetrius finds the short and brunette Hermia more attractive and lovelier than the tall and fair Helena.   So she wishes to have the same physical appearance of Hermia to win back Demetrius.  She ponders:

"LOVE LOOKS NOT WITH THE EYES BUT WITH THE MIND AND THEREFORE IS WINGED CUPID PAINTED BLIND."

    

    So i figured that SIGHT tends more towards ATTRACTION rather than love.  Thus, "attraction at first sight" is the appropriate phrase.  Love will soon be established when it is no longer the human eye that is looking at the person we are attracted to but the mind of our very own heart, (emotional intellect) the only organ that can see the inner beauty.

       My college professor has aptly remarked that Love is NOT really blind.   It is sometimes the lovers who are actually blind.   If we apply logic in the false belief "love at first sight" or "love is blind" it will go something like this:

God is Love. (1 John 4:16)
If love is blind,
Therefore, God is blind.

Life is a Fairy-tale

Every man's life is a fairytale written by God's fingers.
~Hans Christian Andersen

 

Who says fairy tales were meant for kids only?   Well, as an adult Thumbelina now, I still devour them.    Reading children’s stories revitalizes my mind and exhilarates my imagination.    My best-loved books are the Classic fairy tales of Hans   Chritian Andersen  and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis which has Christian themes.    (I do not like Harry Potter that much.)  And, of course, movies like Enchanted always amuse the child in me (horror stories do not entertain me). 

Fairy tales entice children and make them use their imagination.  They contain moral values to teach life's lessons, behave accordingly and treat others with respect.   They can even influence our choice of a lover.    

For instance, the story of Cinderella is not really a story of “from rags to riches”.   It rather conveys a sense of motivation in rendering service to others with the right attitude.

She was called Cinderella because she loved to sit in the cinders or hearth after she had done her work.  Hearth is a fireplace or oven used for cooking: its Latin name is focus.    The poor girl was silently focused and patient on doing the housework.  Despite the cruelties, she remained gracious enough to give due respect to her wretch Stepmother and her daughters.    As expected, the reward for her admirable service and attitude is a handsome (figuratively and literally, I think) Prince Charming!

 

There are however children stories nowadays, that can be a bad influence to the youngsters.  So parents, read first every story before it reaches your kids. Enjoy!

Just a little trivia:  C.S. Lewis, the finest Christian author of all times was a close friend of a devout catholic J.R.R. Tolkien, the man behind the Lord of the Rings.  They were both professors at Oxford University and members of the Inklings, an informal literary discussion group.