5 Lessons on Isolation and Restraint from the Little Prince
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How to find wisdom and happiness in times of quarantine and loneliness.
“So I lived my life alone, without anyone that I could really talk to, until I had an accident with my plane in the Desert of Sahara, six years ago. Something was broken in my engine. And as I had with me neither a mechanic nor any passengers, I set myself to attempt the difficult repairs all alone.”
As any classic literary book, there are several layers in The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, but without doubt, the main themes along with the story of the narrator and the little prince, are isolation and loneliness. In real life, Saint-Exupéry survived an air crash in the desert of Sahara and lived in isolation in the company of his co-pilot for four days until they were rescued. Although a fantasy and children’s book, The Little Prince is deep-rooted in the real experience of the author.
In an age where any gadget or app appears to fill the void in our lives, this little book reminds us that happiness is not about products or possessions but experiences. And to live experiences you don’t have to go far away. You can experience and enjoy your daily routines, your precious rites, you can experience even objects if you learn to see beyond them.
The planet where the little prince lived was very small. The pilot crashed in a desert where it’s difficult to find even water. But all those constraints can’t limit the appreciation of the beauty in the little details like the desert landscape, the stars, a well…
Every object, every person, every moment, is unique, special if you dare to look at them, dedicate your attention, your time, and be responsible for them.
On isolation and its remedies
You’ll find valuable lessons in this simple book not for this time under a pandemic, but for all the moments in your life where you feel alone and you have to live in a restrained space.
In some moments of our lives, every one of us has lived on a little planet or a…
