What moves mountains? Trust!

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry near Montreal, Canada (May 1942)

Antoine de Saint Exupéry was a passionate searcher. He was passionate about life, about spirituality, the depth of mystery. But, for a long time, for him too the skies remained silent. Notwithstanding all his sustained trials, his prayers were not heard. Until one day he discovered that the biggest mercy of prayer consists in – not being heard.
 
Prayer itself  is mercy.
Every human being  sooner or later is confronted with sorrow, suffering, saying goodbye, and come across questions that are not answered or are confronted with problems that cannot be solved. We try everything, but nothing succeeds, nothing works, nothing moves – not through willpower, not through sustained prayer. Sooner or later we ask ourselves: why?

We want an answer.

Español: Interior del Museo Antoine de Saint-E...

Interior Museum of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Tarfaya (Morocco) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A sign. In this way in spite of ourselves, we imagine what is good for us. We create an image  that we need to be helped and how and when this should happen. It is exactly at this point that de Saint Exupéry discovered that the answer to his prayer did not coincide with the images he had in mind. He realised that the answer to his prayer exceeds the image created by us. It does not allow to be steered, or the use of words and is only  to be understood by the heart. From a heart that exists through… trust.

Only belief that trusts completely can accept the holy ground of ‘not understanding’.
When we touch the bottom of  intense doubt with our problems – and yet trust – true belief surges. Something becomes visible and tangible which we would otherwise never see, feel or experience.

Then we may discover with surprise, with an inner certitude that does not need a rational explanation, that -in essence- we are inspired.

And stronger : right through the agony of doubt, paradoxally enough, we find inner peace.

BZN Movement Without a Name Proverb of the month

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Additional reading:

  1. A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow
  2. Rejoice even though bound to grieve
  3. The soul has no rainbow if the eyes have no tears
  4. Trouble is coming
  5. Do not be so busy adding up your troubles
  6. Life’s challenges may not paralyse you
  7. A small trouble is like a pebble
  8. Remembering from times of trouble
  9. Anxiety is the gap between the now and the later
  10. If your difficulties are longstanding, try kneeling
  11. A problem not worth praying about isn’t worth worrying about
  12. Give your tears to God
  13. Crying and trusting ones do not get disappointed
  14. Call unto God so that He can answer you
  15. Let God’s promises shine on your problems
  16. Don’t put a question mark where God put a period
  17. Don’t wait to catch a healthy attitude
  18. Fearing the right person
  19. Trust the future to God
  20. Stick to one God
  21. Trust God to shelter, safety and security
  22. God is my refuge and my fortress in Him I will trust
  23. Be convinced that we are loved
  24. Love been perfected with us
  25. Faithfulness when most necessary
  26. Have a little talk with the Potter
  27. Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement
  28. A person is limited only by the thoughts that he chooses
  29. A Living Faith #1 Substance of things hoped for
  30. What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?
  31. Confidence
  32. Hope begins in the dark
  33. It is not try but trust

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  • Secret ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (misssfaith.com)
    Throw away all the worries about being not perfect – you are perfect just the way you are and a big smile from a happy heart is much more worth than a fake laugh of a wrinkle-less face.
  • In Search of the Little Prince (kirkusreviews.com)
    A scene of Saint-Exupéry working on the manuscript for Le Petit Prince includes a peek at his imagined characters; the delightful back cover depicts the Little Prince and Tonio, shoes off, sitting in opposite chairs, apparently deep in speculative conversation.
  • Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: The Little Prince (headbutler.com)
    When Robin Williams died, my Facebook screen lit up with one quote after another from “The Little Prince.”I didn’t understand why so many people responded with lines from this book.
  • Why Did “The Little Prince” Quotes Suddenly Appear After Robin Williams’ Death? (goodmenproject.com)

    One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.

    You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.

    All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.

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    those Facebook friends mourning a grown-up who never lost his connection to the child within? They knew just where to look.
  • 7 Best Book Covers Of All Time (whytoread.com)
    Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince. Richard Howard’s translation of the beloved classic beautifully reflects Saint-Exupéry’s unique and gifted style. Howard, an acclaimed poet and one of the preeminent translators of our time, has excelled in bringing the English text as close as possible to the French, in language, style, and most important, spirit. The artwork in this edition has been restored to match in detail and in color Saint-Exupéry’s original artwork. Combining Richard Howard’s translation with restored original art, this definitive English-language edition of The Little Prince will capture the hearts of readers of all ages.
  • The Little Prince And The Better Parts Of Javascript (greenido.wordpress.com)
    The little price“It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to subtract.”
  • It’s a Little Lonely (bronwendeklerk.com)
    “Where are the people?…It’s a little lonely in the desert…”
    “It is lonely when you’re among people, too”
  • Inspired by His Love (enteringthepromisedland.wordpress.com)
    Indwelt by the light of God that continually produces good works springing from that love God has poured into our heart before (Rom 5:5), we can experience that there is nothing greater in this world and beyond than His Love offers. God’s Love is better than being right, better than being successful, better than being known, and better than possessing all material things one could wish for.
  • Storytelling, Culture, and Revolution (goodmenproject.com)
    A story might simply be a story if it stands by itself — in a vacuum. Yet, a story rooted in our life experiences is not just a story. It is much more. In it we find revealed the particular relationship that we, the storytellers, have with our environment. Individual stories are part of the fabric that is our worldview. Stories, whether fictitious or true, spring forth from our values, believes, perceptions, dreams, imaginations or wishes, all of which are bound to our life experiences, which in turn are fundamentally shaped by our particular environment. The stories, then, that we tell ourselves are bound up in a feedback system whereby our lives find expression in stories which are in turn enacted by us. If, as Ishmael tells us, we believe that the world was made for man (i.e. man as the climax of the whole cosmic drama of creation) and that we are at odds with nature’s distasteful, dehumanizing elements (i.e. moving beyond the wretchedness of the animal condition), then the stories that we will write and enact are stories of conquest, progress, and an alienation from nature.

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