Friday Reflections

All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it.

Thanks to Saeed Malik for introducing me to “The Little Prince” in the year 1988

Point to Ponder: Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Story Line: The Little Prince
At first glance one may assume that “The Little Prince” is a book for children. After all the cast of characters are: a Pilot, a boy named “The Little Prince”, a Fox, a Snake and a Rose. But in reality few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as “The Little Prince”. In my belief it is a story even more valuable for adults and it is easy one hour reading time.

Here are a few teasers from the book*:
The narrator begins with a discussion on the nature of grown-ups and their inability to perceive, especially relating to important things. The narrator becomes a pilot, and, one day, his plane crashes in the Sahara, far from civilization. In the middle of the desert, the narrator is unexpectedly greeted by a young boy who is nicknamed as "the little prince".

Over the course of eight days stranded in the desert, while the narrator attempts to repair his plane, the little prince recounts the story of his life.

The prince begins by describing life on his tiny home planet: in effect, a house-sized asteroid known as "B 612" on Earth.

The prince has since visited six other planets, each of which was inhabited by a single, irrational, narrow-minded adult, each meant to critique an element of society. They include:
• A king with no subjects, who only issues orders that can be followed, such as commanding the sun to set at sunset.
• A narcissistic man who only wants the praise which comes from admiration and being the most-admirable person on his otherwise uninhabited planet.
• A drunkard who drinks to forget the shame of drinking.
• A businessman who is blind to the beauty of the stars and instead endlessly counts and catalogs them in order to "own" them all
• A lamplighter on a planet so small, a full day lasts a minute. He wastes his life blindly following orders to extinguish and relight the lamppost every 30 seconds to correspond with his planet's day and night.
• An elderly geographer who has never been anywhere, or seen any of the things he records, providing a caricature of specialization in the contemporary world.
It is the geographer who tells the prince that the prince next visit the planet Earth.

The visit to Earth begins with a deeply pessimistic appraisal of humanity. The six absurd people the prince encountered earlier comprise, according to the narrator, just about the entire adult world on earth. Below are some sample dialogues before you dwell into the fascinating, deeply philosophical and meaningful story for life and relationships.

“People where you live," the little prince said, "grow five thousand roses in one garden... yet they don't find what they're looking for...And yet what they're looking for could be found in a single rose, or a little water..."

“Where are the people?” resumed the little prince at last. “It’s a little lonely in the desert…” “It is lonely when you’re among people, too,” said the snake.”

“Grown-ups love figures... When you tell them you've made a new friend they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies? "Instead they demand "How old is he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make? "Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.”

“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...” said Fox.

Reflection: In the modern times where elementary school teachers have to remind the parents to slow down and let kids be kids, In the corporate orientation classes for the fresh graduates when the presenter tells them “Welcome to the ‘Real World’”, For people needing coaching in “Emotional Intelligence, The Little Prince will enlighten and open the eyes about what the real “Real World” is like. As the narrator says to the little prince “Men occupy little space on Earth”

The analysis of the book in Encyclopedia Britannica sums it up well: The Little Prince draws unflattering portraits of grown-ups as being hopelessly narrow-minded. In contrast, children come to wisdom through open-mindedness and a willingness to explore the world around them and within themselves. The main theme of the fable is expressed in the secret that the fox tells the little prince: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly: what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

*Source for the Story Line Teasers: Wikipedia.

Cover Photo from The Little Prince in my book collection. Motion Picture has since been released. If any further interest beyond this reflection, then Recommend to read the book first before watching the video.

The Story of Yudhisthira and His Dog

 

Sully the service dog accompanies Bush one last time

POINT TO PONDER
You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. -James D. Miles

STORYLINE by Rajiv Shah (Retold from the Mahabharata)
Yudhisthira finally stood at Indra's chariot. Indra loomed over Yudhisthira - a noble and skilled man - and his trusty companion, an ugly dog that had joined him one day on his trek while he was resting under a tree, alone and tired. He had lost his brothers on the journey - one by one they died - from starvation, the bone chillingly cold nights and the brutality of the heat during the day. One by one they were taken from him. It was when his last brother perished that he found himself at his lowest, under that lonely tree, when the dog appeared to him and never left.
They had been searching for Indra's chariot on that mountain to take them the final way to the gates of heaven. Yudhisthira and his brothers had heard finding this place, this paradise, would bring them peace. They were brave men and many believed they could make the journey through the treacherous mountains but in the end it was Yudhisthira alone, with his trusted dog, had made it.
Together he and the dog had passed over jagged rocks that cut them, hot sand that burned, painful thorns from unwelcoming bushes, and deep mud that threatened to suck them in and not let them go. When they found food - sometimes Yudhisthira finding it, sometimes the dog – they always shared it. When neither found food, they starved together. And as sometimes only loneliness can bring to two creatures, it brought Yudhisthira and his dog love. He trusted the dog with his life.
His dog was looking up at him and he patted his head. They had finally made it to the place they were searching, and Indra's voice bellowed out to him, “oh, you finally arrived! I have been waiting for you so long! It's a pleasure to have you here in my chariot, let's fly to heaven.”
Yudhisthira and his dog took a few steps toward the chariot when Indra raised a hand, “But... the dog can't come, look at it, it's old and thin. It's not worthy of my heaven.”
His dog stopped and Yudhisthira looked down at him. The dog laid down at Yudhisthira's side, resting its head on his cracked paws. Yudhisthira looked back up at Indra, “I'm sorry, if the dog can't come with me, we will turn around and go back now. I thank you for your invitation, but I cannot leave this animal. He has been my faithful companion during this journey.”
Yudhisthira headed back down the mountain, the long arduous path they had just come.
“Stop,” Indra cried out.
Yudhisthira turned and discovered not his dog on the ground where it had been, but the dog transformed back into its real shape: the God Dharma.
“Now you can come, this was your final test and you showed that you deserve to come with me.” Indra opened the doors to the chariot and Yudhisthira stepped in. Indra closed the door and off they went.

REFLECTION
The dharma, represented by the dog in this story is the representation of the only way a person can attain peace. And within this story, the path is found through righteousness not because of what Yudhisthira will attain but because of the intrinsic value of doing what was right.
This begs the question of whether we do good things because of what we feel it will bring us: appreciation or reward.
*I was inspired to focus on this story from the Mahabharata and the picture of the week after reading a moving article about a dog refusing to leave his owner, a fallen soldier. The story can be found here: Best Friend

Update: This story was originally published on Sept 10, 2011. https://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2011/09/yudhisthiraandhisdog.html

Being republished with a new photo after reading the following very touching story about President George H.W.Bush and his service dog Sully. Sully the service dog accompanies Bush one last time.  Sully

The readers comment in the original publication are also being republished in the blog comments.

Seeing Autumn in The Silicon Valley

Point to Ponder: There is beauty wherever we have the ability to see it; for beauty lies in the one that experiences it.--Sujat Shah

Story Line: A week ago while observing some of the majestic, autumnal colors on the trees on our street; I told my wife, “come out and look outside. There are beautiful autumn colors in the neighborhood.” She smiled and wondered aloud, “where have you been all these years? They have been here every autumn for last 20 years that we have lived here. ”Autumn In Silicon Valley

Newly Awakened, I drove around the Silicon Valley looking at the same things I had many times before, but started seeing them differently. Whenever I am travelling to different places and see such an immense beauty, I unleash the capability of my camera to its fullest and take many photos. So in order to be fair and nonpartial, I went around the neighborhood and let my camera roll. (except for the photos of Golden Gate Bridge and two subsequent ones, the rest of the photos are from the Silicon Valley.)

Reflection: This encounter reminded me of a reflection three years ago (Better than the Best) when a fellow traveler in Fiji asked us which place was the best amongst all we had been in the world. Below are a few paragraphs from that reflection.

My wife and I reflected on this encounter in the evening over dinner. We recalled every destination we have been to in last six months and all of them had beautiful places, cultures and people. A pattern emerged as all too often we would ask ourselves in each new place, “Can there be a place better than this?” And when the next encounter came, we wondered the same thing.

This feeling did not go away once we returned home and went to the marshlands in Palo Alto. My wife and I watched as this white egret glided past us, rising higher over the marsh, and into the distance against a spectacular view of the San Francisco Bay. It was free, it was graceful, and it was beautiful. And for a quiet moment we both just watched… Once it was gone, I finally had my answer. I turned to my wife and said, “This place. This is the best. Right here and right now…”

“Only later do we realize, in the next encounter, that beauty is everywhere in this world all around you: in nature, in cultures, and in people. If we can get in harmony with the present.”

Happy Thanksgiving from Friday Reflections

Thanksgiving is a traditional holiday celebrated in the US and Canada, originally set aside as a day to celebrate the annual harvest.  In modern times, Thanksgiving is a day where family and friends gather to catch up, reminisce and share thanks for all of the good things in life.

At Friday Reflections, we're thankful for all of our wonderful readers and the comments and feedback you regularly share with us.  You make Friday Reflections what it is, and we appreciate it.

"I'm gonna be like you, dad. You know I'm gonna be like you"

 

Points to Ponder: Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they repeat word for word what you shouldn’t have said. – Author Unknown
“And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me- He'd grown up just like me- My boy was just like me.” – from the song Cat's in the Cradle written by Harry and Sandra Chapin

Story Line: Some-time ago, in response to the reflection Teach Your Children/Parents Well , two readers; Levi’s and Paul Jaquette had suggested another meaningful song “Cat's in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin. Since then, I have listened to this song many times and I would like to share with you as the year is winding down. It has a very deep message for parents. Please spare a few minutes to listen

Reflection: Every-time I listen to this song, many childhood memories resurface. It is so true that childhood experiences have significant influence in shaping a person's adult life. In my childhood years, when our father returned home from work, we went out for evening rides and listened to many stories and also sang songs. When he returned home from business trips, we would gather around him and listen to enchanting stories of his experiences; people he met, places he visited, funny things that happened and also of his business dealings. For him, all business relations were personal ones. He treated every person and his job with respect. When we showed him the our grades report, he would look at it and ask "Do you need any help or you feel OK?". No other sermon.

For him, being able to work with people was the most important thing for success. He also had his weaknesses and faults. So many of these childhood experiences of every kind have carried on with me in life. This reflection was planned for this Friday (November 16) sometime ago and I realized only an hour ago that it coincides with the 26th anniversary of his departure from this earth. 

Special thanks to Levi's and Paul for sharing this beautiful and meaningful song that has rekindled so many memories.