Around Saint Valentine’s Day I start to think of love. Perhaps it is because I see the Daffodils begin to push up out of the cold winter ground. Humid air feels soft on the cheek. Spring will come soon. But, what really is love? Where do we find it? How do we know we have it? Is it what we expected? or wanted? Are we blind to it? My mother loved my dad with all her heart. He passed, ending a marriage that lasted almost 50 years. But their love goes on into eternity. When she met my “serious person” as I called him, she said tenderly, “ Can’t you see? He loves you.” I started to see all of the little things that didn’t matter and the big things that did. For instance, he had a lot of small change on the floor of his Toyota. I guess he didn’t sweat the small change. He had a bumper sticker on the back that said, “Save the Elephants.” When we married, we drove away in this car. I called it our Golden Chariot.

Antoine de St. Exupéry is telling us many things about life and love in his book titled The Little Prince. It was written during World War II when, as a pilot, de St. Exupéry experienced a crash landing in the North African desert. He struggles to repair his airplane and water is running low. He then meets a little prince and the experiences begin. The book is written for children but it also meant for adults. And it is sad to know that Antoine de St. Exupéry disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea during the war. His book is an even more precious gift for what it says.

In his book, the little prince has many encounters - one of which is with a rose. She is delicate, needs protection from being eaten by a sheep, needs watering, and she needs a barrier to block the wind. She is all that is vulnerable. She has her pride when she states that she was born with the sun and states that she is the only living rose to be found. She has only four thorns to protect herself and she tells the little prince she would use them. She insists on having a globe put over her at night to protect her. The Little Prince dutifully cares for her and then he must move on.

The little prince encounters the fox and the fox tells him that love is when you care enough to tend to someone who needs care. When you follow your heart and feel this love in your heart.

—Adieu, dit le renard. Voici, mon secret. Il est très simple: on ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

—L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux, répéta le petit prince, afin de souvenir.

—C’est le temps que tu as perdu pour ta rose qui fait ta rose si importante.

—C’est le temps que j’ai perdu pour ma rose… fit le petit prince, afin de se souvenir.

—Les hommes ont oublié cette verité, dit le renard. Mais tu ne dois pas l’oublier. Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé. Tu es responsable de ta rose …

— Je suis responsable de ma rose … répéta le petit prince, afin de se souvenir. (p. 65-66, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince. Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, 1943, copyright 1971 by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Estate.)

In English this part of the book reads:

“Good-by,” said the fix. “Here is my secret. It’s quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”

“ Anything essential is invisible to the eyes,” the little prince repeated, in order to remember.

“It’s the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important.”

“It’s the time I spent on my rose …,” the little prince repeated, in order to remember.

“People have forgotten this truth,” the fox said. “But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose …”

“I’m responsible for my rose …,” the little prince repeated, in order to remember. (p.63-64, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince. Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, New York, copyright 1943, renewed 1971 by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Estate. English translation coyright 2000 by Richard Howard. )

So this is what it means. We are responsible for the ones we care about. That is love.