the little prince's rose 🌹
& an antidote to comparison
It’s a bit embarrassing… but recently I’ve been struggling with comparison & envy.
It is so simple. I see someone doing or having something that I desire…
& in an instant, my life pales in comparison, it loses its spark & becomes less than…
I think it might be the quickest way to feel horrible. Even when envy can point at our hidden desires, it mostly robs us of the riches we already have.
But there is something that saved me in the lowest moment.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
For context, the little prince comes from a tiny planet where there is one very special flower, a rose. 🌹 He thinks it’s the only one like that in the whole world.
It is important to him! But now he has travelled to Earth for the first time & discovered many roses just like his one.
“And then he said to himself, I thought I was rich because I had just one flower, and all I own is an ordinary rose. That and my three volcanoes, which come up to my knee, one of which may be permanently extinct. It doesn't make me much of a prince... And he lay down in the grass and wept.” (The Little Prince)
🌹 He had been so happy with his one rose until he had made this discovery.
Then, looking for a friend, he met a curious creature, a fox that spoke.
"For me you're only a little boy just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you have no need of me, either. For you, I'm only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, we'll need each other. You'll be the only boy in the world for me. I'll be the only fox in the world for you ... " "I'm beginning to understand," the little prince said. "There's a flower ... I think she's tamed me ... " (The Little Prince)
What makes the rose special isn’t that it’s the only one in the whole world. But it is the only one for the little prince. The ordinary rose became extraordinary because they chose each other. His love for the rose changes the whole world for him…
✨ Now the little prince can look at the stars, knowing that somewhere there is his special rose, and it seems like all the millions of stars are blinking & smiling at him.
What Fox explains is the invisible value of something that is sacred to YOU.
To the fox, the little prince was just an ordinary boy. But once they tamed each other, they became friends.
Now he would wait excitedly for his visit. Now he would look at the fields & they would remind him of the little prince’s hair. Nothing would ever be the same again. & when the prince leaves, the fox would weep. & that too is beautiful. ✨
Later the little prince says that his flower is special, because it’s the one he watered, protected & took care of.
This helped me see my life differently.
✨ My life won’t compare to anyone else’s in a rational way. It might look like millions of other lives. & some days I wonder why is mine not like theirs. It is then that I remember the little prince & his rose.
I own my life. I have watered it. I have protected it. It is my special, sacred little life… & I choose to love it as it is, as my only one.
So often we want it to be better, bigger, faster, richer… It can become a trap of “never enough.”
Slowly, I am shifting the lens & seeing that my life is worthy of love exactly as it is. It is enough & it is special. Perhaps one day when I am really old, I can look back at the life I’ve lived & say: “My special little life, I lived you well, I loved you well, I had fun & I will miss you.”
If you ever catch yourself comparing to others, then remember your rose.
It might be just one on your whole planet.
But it is yours. 🌹
PS: If you haven’t read this book yet or it’s been a while, then I assure you: it’s the shortest & most powerful book you might ever read! Let me know if you love it too! 🌹
PS:PS: ✨ I currently have space for new 1:1s! These sessions are designed for YOU. In 1h we work with what most needs attention in you, working on the physical, emotional & spiritual levels. If you’ve been feeling stressed, confused or simply in need of support then this is the space for you. Simply message me to book. ✨
Love, Sofi