“One sees clearly only with the heart.  Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” 

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, 1943

A few months back I was asked to give a speech at my alma matter, an all girls private Catholic school. I had been asked to speak a few times before on the topic of service and charity but this time the assignment was a bit different.  I was assigned a quote from The Little Prince and had to tie the quote into my personal story and service. I must admit it felt a bit like the homework assignments I used to dread.

However, the deeper I dove, the more fun and meaningful the assignment and speech became. Today, in looking for a heart themed quote, this same quote appeared once again. Coincidence? I don’t believe in those anymore. When I saw this quote I revisited the words I shared with the girls….

“Giving, service and charity have healed me in unexpected and unimaginable ways.  I was blind and could not see. The curve balls that were thrown to me became my greatest gifts. Those moments gave me my sight. Living the words is what made me understand what I had translated so many years ago in Mr. Olson’s room, just yards from where I now stand.  And to end where I began, although the journey continues, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Charity Matters.

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