The Little Prince's Big Message for Ambitious Women...
One of the ways my fiancé and I like to spend quality time together is to read to one another.
We read fiction and non-fiction, and its usually because I’ve read a book and loved it so much that I want to share it with him.
This time though, be brought our most recent read…
We just finished the very short, sweet, accessible, ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, first published in 1943.
If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend, it’ll only take you an hour.
In case you don’t know the story of The Little Prince, here’s Wikipedia’s short synopsis… (and don’t worry, this becomes relevant for you, so stay with me)
“The story follows a young prince who visits various planets, including Earth, learning life lessons along the way. The book addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. Despite its style as a children’s book, The Little Prince makes observations about life, adults, and human nature.”
In particular, two things touched me about this read.
Firstly, the remembrance and celebration of the joy and awe we felt as children before being ensnared by the world of logic, “sums” and ‘making sense’!
Secondly, the delicate exploration of love portrayed, the acknowledgement of the sweetness of tending to the things you love with reverence, and how what truly makes something beautiful, is invisible to the eye (but not the heart).
These are such poignant themes for ambitious, working women.
See, the thing that women come to me the most for, is this somewhat intangible loss of a spark that they once felt in their life, or hoped for for themselves.
Yes, they’re busy and stressed and a bit overwhelmed by their responsibilities. They might be anxious at work or experiencing disconnection in their relationships. They might be recovering from or wanting to avoid burn out.
But underneath all those symptoms there’s something missing for these women.
Seduced by the constant messaging we receive about what ‘success’ is meant to look like, and the messaging we receive about what ‘woman’ is meant to be, and inundated by the mantras of modern ‘empowered women’ who tell you you can have and be and do it all…
Of course its easy to lose touch with the sweetness of your heart.
Of course its easy to believe the idea that your productivity is more valuable than your joy.
Of course its easy to cut off from ‘superfluous’ things like rest and your pleasure when the to-do list is so long…
And so, of course there’s something missing.
Add to that, that you’ve likely never been shown how to move through your busy world anchored in and connected to your joy and aliveness, because there aren’t many great examples of women like this… Of course you don’t know how to do it!
But, wonderful Ambitious Woman, my simple message to you this week, is that this IS possible, and it’s a skill you can learn.
There’s a curly de-tangling process to go through while you undress from some of the unhelpful ideas and beliefs you’ve adopted along the way.
There’s a potentially uncomfortable journey to go on while you learn to feel safe in your body again after migrating to your mind all those years ago.
There’s some clunky moments to come while you practice skills that you’re a beginner at.
And on the other side…
A relaxed woman. A woman who laughs. A woman who says no when she needs to, without guilt. A woman who smiles with her whole face and her heart. A patient woman. A soft woman. A productive woman who can work hard then ‘switch off’ when its time. A connected, supported, secure woman.
And my prayer for you, is that you find your way to that woman in your self. ❤️🌹
