The Rose Of Life

I sat on my patio, gazing at a beautiful rose rising up so high before me. As I let my eyes trail down from its stem, I noticed the dry cracked ground leading to its roots. I thought of what all that rose bush ha d been through and yet it blossomed so rich and full, giving of it's beauty to all that would take time to see.

I followed the roots in my mind as they turned direction from a rock and then it plunged deep into some rich soil that had been laid there for a purpose.

I thought of the nights, so cool and imagined how it had closed up its leaves to protect itself from frost so early in the Spring. It would draw upon the moisture that it had collected in those deep roots so far below, for it had anticipated such a trial in it's purpose to give to others.

 

The morning light would break and soon the sun would warm it's outer leaves. They would open once again and begin pushing its roots deeper still in the hard ground so far below.

Then, I thought of t he storms that it had beset. Drenching rains would pound upon its body and the very anchor of its soul. The wind blowing so fierce causing its foliage to bend to the ground. The storm passed and once again, it would stretch upward to the sky.

The stems grew strong, as it sprouted new stems, all growing so full in green foliage. Then I noticed at the end of each cluster of five leaves there was a bud that grew larger each day.

The buds then began to break, revealing its color along the cracked tip of the bud, then opening into the most beautiful delicate flower to behold its body. Proudly it blossomed, giving to all the beauty of its purpose, to give.

I thought of what was before me. I saw we are like that rose bush. We are here for a short while. We grow and learn from our surroundings in life. We too, need to grow strong roots to withstand times that would try to overcome us in our lives. I saw that we are here for a purpose, developing into a man or woman that will learn to give to those around them from what they have gained through wisdom. Sharing all they have to others until the fall of their lives. Then they lay down their leaves as the rose bush and wait for a new life to begin, a new dream of a world with peace and love.

Author: Donald D. Campbell

Copyright @ 1999