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, but noticed 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 neglected to water the rose, and just 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 of a great person is to be able to reach past the “thorns” of other people, and find the “rose” within them.
This is one of the characteristic of love——to look at other people, know their true faults and all the while recognize the good within them. Help others to realize they can overcome their faults. If we show them the “rose” within themselves, they will conquer their “thorns”. Only then will they “blossom” many times over.
