The Rose Within

A man planted a rose and watered it faithfully for days however before it blossomed, he examined it and saw the bud but also noticed many thorns upon the stem and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns? Saddened by this thought, he decided not to water the rose anymore, and just before it was ready to bloom... the rose died.

In the same way within every soul – All of us there is a rose. The God-like (Ishvara) qualities exist amid the thorns of our faults and shortcomings. Many of us look at ourselves and others seeing only the thorns - the defects and negative side. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from these ‘thorns’. We neglect to water the good within others and ourselves and therefore the rose within dies before given a chance to blossom.

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest compassionate acts a person can perform is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, know their faults and still accept that person into your life... recognizing the underlying nobility and potentiality in their soul - help them to realize that they can overcome their faults. If we show them the ‘rose’ within themselves, it will help them to conquer their thorns and blossom the rose within

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We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.

~ Sam Keen

The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with. To the degree that we look clearly and compassionately at ourselves, we feel confident and fearless about looking into someone else's eyes.

~ Pema Chodron

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From: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1383885569&v=feed&story_fbid=191697293065#/inbox/?folder=[fb]messages&page=1&tid=1123036048760