When we hear
someone comment, “ Mmmmm I am surprised that you are doing this. You strike me
as someone who is ….” It is
interesting to see how one person views another person. Our appearances cannot
be an accurate representation of who we are but as a rule how we carry
ourselves and interact with others do give away some clues about the kind of
person we are.
I sometimes
wonder if that is why we have to compose ourselves before we meet people. There
are days when I breeze through without much thought about how I look and dress,
but most days I care about how I present myself. I find myself brooding a little if I had let slip one of my off days when I was not paying attention to
details. Is it a matter of self
respect or vanity that I want to be looking my best or at least what I
think my best? As the famous quote by Oscar Wilde goes, a man’s face is his
autobiography and a woman’s face is her work of fiction. Does Wilde think
that women generally pay more attention
to their looks ? Personally I do believe that substance speaks volumes about a person no matter how the
person dresses himself or herself to be. But I find it objectionable that some
people carry their personal liberties a little too far by not wearing sensible
clothes as there is a place for every kind of dressing. It is a lack of respect and sensitivity for others when they only
care for their own comfort.
Lyon |
On Sunday I felt
that some lemon zest would add
flavour to the leek and tuna pasta which our helper prepared so I drove out to a nearby mini market which
was closing in the next five minutes. As I neared the shop, a shirtless man was seen standing outside
the mini-market having his smoke. He was obviously oblivious to his bulging
belly that was clearly not intended to stop any traffic. I wonder what would the little prince created by Antoine de
Saint-Exupéry say if he had encountered such a person?
Le Petit Prince written by Antoine de Saint Exupéry is a fable that tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of
his own tiny planet ( the size of which is scarcely bigger than a house) to
travel the universe. In his voyage to the earth, he encounters a fox, a snake,
a railway pointsman and the merchant who sells patent pills to quench thirst.
The narrator of the story is an aviator who made a forced landing in the Sahara desert and there he met the
little boy whom he came to describe as the little prince and he had good reason
to believe that the planet from which the little prince comes from is the
Asteroid known as B 612.
“ The reason I have told you so
much about Asteroid B612, and let you know its number, is because of grown-ups.
Grown-ups love figures. When you describe a new friend to them, they never ask
you about the important things, They never say: “What’s is his voice like?”
What are his favourite games?Does he collect butterflies?” Instead they
demand: “How old is he ? How many
brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much does his father earn?” Only
then do they feel they know him.
The humanism of The Little Prince is
well demonstrated by the conversation that takes place between the fox and the
little Prince.
‘I
can’t play with you,' said the fox. 'I am not tame.’
'Oh! I beg your pardon,’ said
the little prince.
‘Something that
is frequently neglected,’said the fox. ‘It means “to create ties”.’
The little
prince then remembered the rose
that he had taken care of and had left behind, so he reckoned the flower must have tamed him.
The fox said,
‘My life is very monotonous. I
run after the chickens, the men run after me. All the chickens are the same,
all the men are the same. Consequently, I get a little bored. But if you tame
me, my days will be as if filled with sunlight. I shall know the sound of a
footstep different from all the rest……….’
The fox told the
little prince a secret when the little prince was about to leave.
‘Goodbye,’ said the fox.’Now
here is my secret, very simply: you can only see things clearly with your
heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.’
‘It is the time you have wasted
on your rose that makes your rose so important.’
The little
prince was thus reminded by the fox that he was responsible for his rose.Le Petit Prince (The little prince) is a beautiful novella that has been poetically written.
Both the Emperor’s New Clothes and Le Petit Prince (English version) are charming children’s classics for all ages that are timeless and must be read and re-read time and time again.
I do not profess to have the highest standards of dressing. While I live in a place where the climate is warm and humid all year round, I find it particularly hideous when men go topless in public places other than the beach and swimming pools . Even though I know I should not care about aesthetics too much as what is important is invisible, I only wish that some men should know better that they look better clothed and they should not misinterpret the story written by Hans Christian Andersen. The Emperor’s New Clothes is a children’s story about an emperor who only cared about his clothes as he was very vain. Two weavers decided to promise the Emperor a new suit of clothes that is invisible to those unfit, stupid or incompetent for their positions.As the Emperor paraded before his subjects, a child cried out, “But he isn’t wearing anything at all.”
Lyon |
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