On the gentle wings of summer, when time slows down and the sun caresses our skin, a quiet invitation calls to us: to rest the mind, the body and, above all, the heart.
And then there are books that accompany us during these pauses as if they were old friends. Among them, one small treasure full of light and wisdom stands out: The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
At this time of year, the body asks for rest. What about the soul?
We live in a world that always demands more. More productivity, more presence, more immediate responses, more of everything, while asking us to think less about ourselves! Is that fair?
Deep down, what our heart longs for is not more, but less! Less noise, less rushing around, less weight, less pressure, simply less.
True emotional rest begins when we give our soul permission to stop, breathe and listen.
Do you know what this means for you? Yes, you, you read that correctly: during your summer holiday, do not just rest your body. Give your mind a rest from comparisons, your heart from demands, and your thoughts from guilt.
The Little Prince whispers to us that “grown-ups understand nothing on their own” and that sometimes we need to become children again to reconnect with our essence.
May I set you a challenge? Let us rewrite this story together!
“Indeed, on the little prince’s planet, as on all other planets, there were good plants and bad plants. So there were good seeds from good plants, and bad seeds from bad plants. But seeds are invisible. They sleep in the secrecy of the earth until one takes it into its head to wake up. Then it stretches and timidly sends a harmless little shoot towards the sun. If it comes from a rose bush or a radish, we can let it grow as it pleases. But when it is a bad plant, we must pull it up straight away, as soon as we recognise it”.
The bad plants are all the demands for more that prevent us from resting and that we need to pull up before it is too late. The good plants are our well-deserved rest, that ‘less’ we spoke of above, which will allow us to reconnect with our essence during this holiday period.
Are you ready to take responsibility for seeing the good seeds sprout?
What is essential is invisible to the eye
This wonderful book reminds us of that too! What are you waiting for? Why not dive into its pages this holiday?
The moral of the story is: what truly matters cannot be seen, it is felt. At a time when everything is about image, status, filters and performance, and we live our real lives as though we were permanently online, The Little Prince offers us the cure: feeling with the heart.
Emotional rest also means looking around us and choosing what is worth caring for: our relationships, nature, silence, shared moments. Just as the prince cares for his rose, we too need to care for our emotions with gentleness and presence.
Cultivate gestures of love and share them
You can combine pleasure with purpose: reading this book with a son, a goddaughter or a grandfather is more than an act of reading. It is a meeting of generations, where conversations spring up and remain preserved in time like stars in the sky.
By sharing this work with someone, we plant seeds of empathy, listening and imagination. It is an invisible yet powerful legacy. Because those who learn early to “see with the heart” walk through life with greater sensitivity and authenticity.
In this book, as in our own lives, “You become forever responsible for what you have tamed.”
This is one of the lines that most deeply touches those who read the book. And perhaps it is the perfect summary of what it means to love, care and share.
Why might that be? Discover good practices for emotional rest
Think of the beauty of sharing and genuine love, which I imagine is what you are looking for on this holiday, as on others:
“If you tame me, we shall need one another. To me, you will be unique in all the world. And to you, I shall be unique in all the world...”
Here are some good practices for emotional rest this summer
- Take a book that inspires you: choose reading that touches you deeply.
- Disconnect to reconnect: step away from screens for a while and connect with nature, your breathing and the presence of those you love.
- Create moments of emotional sharing: read an extract from the book with someone dear to you. Share memories, dreams and laughter.
- Learn to play again: leave room for lightness, for doing nothing, for contemplation. Allow yourself simply to be; that is perfectly fine!
- Write to your “inner little prince”: a simple letter expressing what you feel, what you need and what you want to care for.
When you return to your daily routine, you can count on my help as an integrative health coach and holistic therapist to continue living life to the full. What is needed from you? Preparation:
“If you come, for example, at four in the afternoon, I shall begin to be happy from three o’clock. The closer the hour comes, the happier I shall feel. At four, I shall be excited and restless: I shall discover the price of happiness! But if you come at any time, I shall never know when to prepare my heart...”
This summer, slow down… and reconnect with yourself
Reading The Little Prince is like drinking a glass of cool water or a refreshing juice on a hot day: simple, yet absolutely essential. Let this book guide you and invite you to experience a summer that is more mindful, lighter and more your own.
Just that blue-sky summer in which you rest and can plant seeds of well-being and sharing that will blossom long after August.
Because resting is not about stopping, it is about preparing the heart to blossom.