"To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world..." The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The first time that I read The Little Prince, I fell in love, and over the years it has become really important to me. I've read both English and French translations several times. I own six copies of the book in various translations, covers, and interpretations. I love it so much, that it was the inspiration behind my very first tattoo. I get a lot of questions, so here's my story.
I first experienced loss when I was a junior in high school when a class mate passed away in a car accident. I had never dealt with death on a personal level, so naturally I was confused and angry. Questions constantly ran through my head. "Why, God??" was a common one. My heart was crushed. Slowly, the anger gave way to sadness, but years later remained a sore spot in my heart.
Almost three years later, my grandpa passed away.
And while He lived a full, blessed life, it didn't make his passing any easier. I was his "heartstrings", and his passing brought back all the familiar feelings of confusion and sadness that I hated. To this day, my heart still aches. I still miss him. And I'm sure that facet of grief never subsides.
I never wanted to feel this way again. Unfortunately, less than a year later, my senior year of college, I lost someone that was so dear to me that it nearly destroyed my heart. Miles and I had both grown busy with schoolwork and vowed to catch up over coffee when we returned from Christmas break. I returned to Charleston only to hear that he passed away in his dorm room very early that morning.
Just like that, he was gone.
"How??" And then so much "why?"
Miles was smart, funny, and so full of life.
He had become my closest friend. My listener.
Cliche as it sounds, Miles lit up a room.
I was heartbroken to the depths of my soul.
I was angry and confused all over again.
I felt alone, and I was sure that I would never be able to let anyone in again.
Grief is a journey.
After Miles passed away, I thought a lot about our conversations about faith and the stars being evidence of things unseen. Conversations that I never want to forget.
It brought me back to a quote from The Little Prince.
" In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night...
You-only you-will have the stars that can laugh!"
A deceptively thin book, the Little Prince is heavy with meaning. It's all about exploration, self discovery, love, loss, and loneliness. The fox teaches the prince what it means to love and the importance of love. For the pilot, the stars are a reminder of the little prince. They are symbols of love, loss, and finding beauty in loneliness. I knew that I wanted something to remind me of the people that I love and have lost. And now, when I look at my arm, I think about how blessed I am to have a life so full of love.
And love never dies.
Thank you Betsy for your beautiful work.
-JJ
