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This was sent to me by a friend. I hope that it is not a repeat . . @-->-->-->-- nancy v a rose among the thorns > > 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 growing 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 a person, and knowing his [or her] > faults, recognize the nobility in his [or her] soul, and help him [or > her] realize that he/she can overcome their faults. If we show them the > rose, they will conquer the thorns. Then [s/]he will blossom, blooming > forth thirty, sixty, a hundred- fold as it is given to him [or her]. > > 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 should feel for > each other; only then can we bloom in our own garden. > > I hope all of us continue to see the rose within ourselves and have the > vision to find it others around us. >