Thorns Have Roses 11-18-16

No 47 Changing Lives through Dancing
By David Earl Woodbury

Friday, November 18, 2016

Thorns Have Roses

“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses.” – Alphonse Karr (1808 – 1890) French critic, journalist, and novelist

“The Price of Admission” is what we pay in life to have the things we want. Have you ever fallen for someone and then gone to dinner with them, and were horrified? The table manners, how they treated the staff, and general dining etiquette? You at that time decide if you are willing to pay the “price” to continue going out with them.

Or, have you ever fallen in love with someone and then seen something about them that was a deal breaker, but it was too late, your heart was already given to them? Yes, this has happened to us all. And get this…the things in others that irritate us about them are the things in our own lives that irritate others. Many will argue with me on this, but every time I can’t stand someone else, it is over a quality that is in my own life, hidden or active.

Yes, thorns have roses and that’s how they come to us. Now if you are a florist, you will take a beautiful rose, trim off the thorns, wrap the stem in wire, wrap that wire in dark green tape and position the rose perfectly in an arrangement. Yes, even a perfect rose may be tamed and molded for an arrangement or a vase. And yes, we are able to control our own price of admission for others in our lives.

“The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart – this you will build your life by, and this you will become.” – James Lane Allen (1849 – 1925) American Author

What we think, we become. The ideal that we constantly glorify does eventually take us over and we become our thoughts and ideals.  For me, I show up, try my best, stay consistent and keep on trying and I know that those actions will always win out for me.

“Tough times never last. Tough people do.” – Robert H. Schuller (1926 – 2015) American Minister, Evangelist

Roses are hearty flowers, yet they take a great deal of work and care to cultivate. I remember a story of a grandson visiting his grandparents, and they were awaiting the next morning when all the roses would open and be in their full bloom. The next morning, the grandmother looked out to see that her grandson had pulled the flowers open on his own and they the petals had fallen to the ground. The grandmother exclaimed, why did you do this, and his reply was, I was just trying to help them bloom.

You can’t force a rose to bloom and you must wait until it is ready, and it will be perfect when it opens in its own good time. We cannot rush life and we must be patient (not my best attribute!)

“Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 – 1882) American poet

Sometimes perseverance (I love that word) is not taking action, but WAITING for the right time. Waiting for the results of hard word. Waiting to speak. Waiting to take action. Waiting for the other person to speak. Waiting for the rose to open. Waiting for the sun to rise. Waiting for the right moment to then take action. Perseverance is fueled by patience and a waiting heart.

“To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue… gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.”– Confucius (551-479 BC) Chinese Philosopher 

Well, what good is it if we get to our goals, and we are then not nice people. I’m trying to get to my finish line with some of my etiquette still in place and still the great son that my mom and dad raised. If I “win the lottery” of life and do not have a centered life and am not a kind person, it was not worth it. Be careful what you wish for in life, for you just might get it! I am wishing for a good heart!

For all the thorns on me, there is still a rose at the top. I want to give back. I want to have a kind heart. I want to live my life to help and inspire others. It’s time to go to the florist and pick up, although carefully, some roses and see that above the thorns will be a glory of color and beauty.  Be a beautiful rose in life!

Thanks for reading!

David Earl Woodbury

Keep on Dancing!