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

One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes. – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Some photographers see with their eyes, others see with their hearts. You can do the same thing, with practice. The question is will you?

What does that mean?
This is an interesting part of the book “The Little Prince,” where the Prince was crying about his rose, and is talking with his new friend the fox.

The Prince is sad because he thought his rose was unique, but now knows better, because he has seen a row of rose bushes and many more roses. The fox explains that his rose is unique because of the relationship between them.

That relationship is the bond of the heart, which cannot be seen by the eyes. With that bond come feelings of responsibility and love. These are some of the greatest bonds on the planet, and are completely invisible to the eye.

Why is seeing with your heart important?  
Have you ever heard someone say “I wonder what they see in each other?” In hearing that, you now know the true meaning of this quote, right? The speaker is seeing with their eyes, the people they are talking about are seeing with their hearts.

Another question for you: have you ever felt compassion for something or someone that was not pleasing to the eye? How can that be, unless your heart recognises what *it* sees, and overrides your eyes. This allows you to see what is essential, despite what you might see with your eyes.

Now, imagine a world where the only thing you felt or acted on was related only to what your eyes could see, nothing else. What if everyone else in the whole world did the same? What kind of a world would be? Would it be a nice place for you to live in, or can you see that it would not be a very pleasant place?

To me, that is the reason why we must always remember there is more to the world than meets the eyes. I believe we should always try to strive to recognize that which we see with the heart, not just the eyes.

Where can I apply this in my life?
For me, I find that being centered, being calm, helps me see more clearly with my heart. Yeah, sounds kind of goofy, but it works for me. What about you, when do you see most clearly with your heart? Is it when things are calm and you are focused, or when things are crazy?

The more hectic my day, the harder I find it is to see with my heart. The more cranky I am, the more aggravated or angry I am, the more stressed I am, the harder it is to see with my heart. Is it that way for you as well? Does that give you something to think about?

Once I realized that my state of mind did seriously impact my ability to see with my heart, I have been trying to maintain a more even keel. I try to stay as centered as I possibly can, and use a variety of techniques in my attempts. Success varies, but I like to think I’m getting better.

Have you ever thought about the things you do that help you be calm and centered? Perhaps you use other words, and other means of getting to the place where you see clearly with your heart. Perhaps you are able to see with your heart at all times. If so, please leave any hints or tips for those not as advanced. Thanks!

Now the question is what to do once you notice that there is something going on with your heart’s eye. For me, the big trouble is to overcome what my eyes see, or to overlook them, as it were. What do you do to to see past what you are actually seeing and feel what is going on, to see with your heart?

You have almost certainly done it before, so think back to times when you have allowed it to happen. Can you remember what you were thinking, what mood and state of mind you were in? That is where I would start. Try finding that state of mind and mood, and see how well it works when you are trying to make it happen.

Try variations, or note how you were in a slightly different mood or state of mind each time you are successful. Hopefully, within a short period of time, you will have a pretty good idea what works for you. With that in hand, it’s time for the next step.

How do you get to that mood or state of mind? It does us little good to know where you need to be, but be unable to get there, right? What can you say or think to help you adjust your mood or your mind? I would practice doing those things until I could do it fairly easily, and on demand.

Now, look at the world with different eyes. The eyes of your heart are unleashed, and the world will never seem the same. It will be greater and more awesome than you imagined, and get better every day. At least it has for me.

From: Twitter, @TheRealNimoy (yep, it’s THAT guy, it’s Spock)
confirmed at : http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Little_Prince (2/3 of the way down)
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