taming our fears — and back to school

I just reread The Little Prince slowly, over the course of the last three days here and there. What a great vacation read! Along with bemusement over the clever wording and adorable illustrations, I was left with a sense of awe at the way the author weaves moral philosophy into a classic travel tale to make a story that has much to say to readers of all ages. Few “children’s books” can do that so well.

The concept of taming–spoken by the lonely fox whose ears are too big– knocked me over again, just like it always does.

On ne connaît que les choses que l’on apprivoise, dit le renard. Les hommes n’ont plus le temps de rien connaître. Ils achètent des choses toutes faites chez les marchands. Mais comme il n’existe point de marchand d’amis, les hommes n’ont plus d’amis. Si tu veux un ami, apprivoise-moi !*

“One only understands the things that one tames,” said the fox. “Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things already made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where you can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me!”

To tame is to “make less dangerous or frightening,” according to the dictionary. But for Saint-Exupéry, taming is the basis of friendship: we allow each other to depend on each other, and the world becomes less dangerous and frightening. Pictured here are the pillows I’ve been making during this same time period, which feature hand-made shooting stars designed to resemble  Saint-Exupéry’s. I make them to help people tame their fears. And maybe the making helped me tame my fears of being suddenly in this new place with a new name, no job, and starting over again…

Taming fear is what Tranquility Pillows allow us to do.  By expressing an emotion–by snapping on one of three stars–you can put that feeling at arm’s length, or make it into an external object. If you snap on the scary black star, your fears wield less power over your mind, because you can see that they are just a little black star.  They exist out there in the air, like the Little Prince on his planet, and you may or may not ever encounter them in person during this life. And maybe a friend or parent will see you’re worried and lend a helping hand…

So this year as you head back to school, why not get a Tranquility Pillow?  Let the pillow  help your mind rest now and then, while you are working so hard…

 

*Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince / The Little Prince, 1st ed. 1946 ; (Paris : Gallimard, 2000) 69.

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more flood pics from South Bend, and a sign of spring

 

This force of nature is barreling through towns and drowning homes right and left! These pics were taken across the street from my house on Riverside Drive, South Bend. But the whole region of  “Michiana”–that is, northern Indiana and southern Michigan–is affected. It’s the St Joseph River, an often placid, but unpredictable river in the best of times,  but still people canoe there and go fishing.  But now look at it!

It looks like a Mack truck coming at you. The two bridges over the river from my side were both out this morning; it took 45 minutes to do what usually takes 8.

Yikes!

On a lighter note, while waiting for me to finish taking pictures, Honey Girl pulled me over to a sign of spring.

sign of spring! see the green shoots pushing through the dead leaves?

(so is the trash everywhere, actually, a sign of spring. It means the snow just melted.)

Right after coming over to ask when we were leaving, as in the picture below, Honey Girl licked my nose. That is a high praise! (She is not a big licking dog. She prefers to “talk” in all kinds of funny groans or get her squeaky toy and put on a squeaking show). I feel honored.

That reminds me of Rousseau’s Confessions. In book 6 of the Confessions Rousseau describes his fondness for taming pigeons and keeping bees: “I have always taken a singular pleasure in taming animals, above all those that are fearful and wild. It appeared charming to me to inspire them with a confidence that I never abused. I wanted them to love me in freedom” (Conf, CW, 5:196).

Honey Girl, 2/22/18