The Rose Within
�� ~Author Unknown~
A certain man planted a rose and watered it
faithfully, and before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw the bud that
would soon blossom and also the thorns. And he thought, �How can any
beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?�
Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was
ready to bloom, it died.
So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a
rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth grow amid the thorns of
our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the
defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We
neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize
our potential.
Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone
else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is
to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others. This is
the characteristic of love, to look at people, and knowing their faults,
recognize the nobility in their souls, and help them realize that they can
overcome their faults. If we show them the rose, they will conquer the
thorns. Then will they blossom, blooming forth thirty, sixty, a hundred-fold
as it is given to each of them.
Our duty in this world is to help others by showing them
their roses and not their thorns. Only then can we achieve the love we could
feel for one another; only then can we bloom in our own gardens.
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