By Aurea Crotty

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

One of my favorite books is The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, at first glance it appears to be a children’s book –but in fact it is so much more, what lies within are the most wonderful life lessons that inspire me each time I read it.

The story begins with a pilot stranded in the desert who meets a most extraordinary little prince. It is through this little prince that we learn some very wise and inspirational life lessons.

One of those lessons is that the things and people we hold dear to us are so because of the connection we make, the time we spend, and the love we bestow upon them and them on us.

 THE LITTLE PRINCE went to look at the roses again.

“You are not at all like my rose, you’re nothing at all yet” he told them. “No one has tamed you, and you have tamed no one. You are like my fox when I first knew him. He was only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But I have made him my friend, and now he is unique in all the world.”  

And the roses were humbled.

“You are beautiful, but you are empty,” he went on. “One could not die for you. To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you– the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars (except the two or three that we saved to become butterflies); because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or ever sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose.

 And he went back to meet the fox.

 ”Goodbye,” he said.

“Goodbye,” said the fox.

 ”And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

 ”What is essential is invisible to the eye,” the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”

“It is the time I have wasted for my rose–” said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember.

“Men have forgotten this truth,” said the fox. “But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose…”

“I am responsible for my rose,” the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.*

Take time to foster relationships and acknowledge the rarity of those around you. Be thankful for this wonderful experience you have been given and for the adventures ahead. By following your heart you will never be led astray.

By Janice Carter

The other day I was going through my bills and bank statements. I felt stressed and panicked as the numbers revealed that I’m quite poor at present. I sat down and drafted a financial plan to get myself out of the red and into the black. The sense of panic subsided slightly. Then, as I stood back and looked at my life as a whole, I realized that I’m insanely rich! This is largely due to the fact that I have amazing friends. The panic vanished. My relationships with others are far more valuable than any soaring stocks or phenomenal bank balances.

Friendship is gold. My mother still teases me about my first day of high school. I had chosen a different high school than my elementary school friends, so I was friendless. After day one in a sea of strangers, my mom asked “how was your first day?” I replied “I’m looking people over carefully before I invest in friendship.” She got a big kick out of this.  Well, it took me a while before I chose friends, but many years later, the friends I made back then are still among my closest. They’ve supported me through the loss of my father, more break ups than I can count, career catastrophes and lots of other things. They’ve also shared in and been the source of much of the joy in my life. I really don’t know what I’d do without them. I’ve also been fortunate enough to collect many new friends.

Although I never would have believed it as a rebellious youngster, my mom is now a friend. When I told her she was my friend, she said “that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said.” I’ve frequently told her I love her, but I believe that’s to be expected. To call her a friend means that I not only love her because she gave birth to me, but that I actually like her and choose to be friends with her.

Friendship has lingering effects of which you may not even be aware. My Dad maintained strong ties with his two high school buddies his entire life. Jim, Nick and my Dad were like the three musketeers in their teens as well as in their sixties. They were a rich part of my childhood allowing me to get to know my father better despite his absence. Friendship can leave a legacy.

Investing in friendship can yield returns that you never could dream of. As you strategically invest your money, do the same with people.

 Things to do to maintain existing friendships and build new ones:

Call just to say hello

Say I love you

Go to a social event and don’t leave until you’ve met 3 new people

Search for a lost friend on Facebook

Don’t keep score: if a friend doesn’t return a call, call them again and don’t take the lack of the returned call personally

Organize a special weekend with friends

How do you invest in your friends?