Daily Question, July 31 What habits of mind need to shift in order for me to see roses along with thorns? 42 Reflections Share Click here to cancel reply.Please log in or Create a Profile to post a comment. Notify me when someone replies to my comment via e-mail. Ella1 week agoEllaSimply not focusing on the bad parts of every situation, saying to myself ‘oh well’ and moving on with life is a very important skill to have. I need to remind myself that the sadness I’m feeling is only temporary and will eventually pass like it always does. 1 Reply Amita1 week agoAmitaTo see roses with the thorns is like accepting the situations as they are.It is freedom from the pros and cons of the situation. Accept yourself as a mere receiver or rather a perfect receiver who receives abundance and adversity with same intensity. Be grateful for both. Both are true and inseparable. Experience Both lively. 2 Reply Cathie1 week agoCathieI believe I do see the roses along with the thorn-at least I feel like I do:) 3 Reply dragonfly1 week agodragonflyIf you want to love the rose you have to love it whole, thorns and all. And what goes for the rose goes for everything else. 3 Reply Don Jones1 week agoDon JonesThis immense and self-aware emptiness that I find here isn’t just empty. It’s empty-for-filling. Ultimately no-one and nothing is left out. In fact, I’m not well, not quite sane, not ‘all there’, not whole till I’m the Whole. Nor, to put it another way, is the Universe whole while I split it into an observer here and an observed there, into a me-part and a not-me part. To enjoy the Universe as a Universe, and no longer to suffer from it as a Duoverse, I have to be none of it centrall...This immense and self-aware emptiness that I find here isn’t just empty. It’s empty-for-filling. Ultimately no-one and nothing is left out. In fact, I’m not well, not quite sane, not ‘all there’, not whole till I’m the Whole. Nor, to put it another way, is the Universe whole while I split it into an observer here and an observed there, into a me-part and a not-me part. To enjoy the Universe as a Universe, and no longer to suffer from it as a Duoverse, I have to be none of it centrally, and all of it peripherally. They are two sides of the coin or roses and thorns. Read More7 Reply Anonymous1 week agoAnonymousI reframed the word for today from despite everything, to Because of everything, life is full of beauty and meaning, this little change is all inclusive. Sounds simple enough, but it was the journey of a thousand miles for that one little shift. I could hear the wheels grinding and then a thousand prayers later, I let go. 7 Reply Carol1 week agoCarolThe first thing that came to my mind was the song, "The Rose" by Amanda Bloom. Especially pertinent to the mindset I have worked to change are the lyrics that say: "...It's the heart, afraid of breaking That never learns to dance It's the dream, afraid of waking That never takes the chance It's the one who won't be taken Who cannot seem to give And the soul, afraid of dying That never learns to live..." Fear of failure, a need to control, an inability to let go are some of the majo...The first thing that came to my mind was the song, “The Rose” by Amanda Bloom. Especially pertinent to the mindset I have worked to change are the lyrics that say: “…It’s the heart, afraid of breaking That never learns to dance It’s the dream, afraid of waking That never takes the chance It’s the one who won’t be taken Who cannot seem to give And the soul, afraid of dying That never learns to live…” Fear of failure, a need to control, an inability to let go are some of the major habits of mind that I’ve identified as I’ve grown in self-awareness. I have to challenge them in order to see roses along with the thorns. When I feel down and out, a self inventory usually leads to the identification of one of these mindsets and I don’t care how much I grow, they rear their heads from time to time. If I can name the fear, it loses its power. I remind myself often that even when I feel or I am unworthy, I am still of worth. I’ve pasted all the lyrics to the song below in case you want to read them all. The link is to a rendition by Bette Miller https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFa324V1kgU The Rose by Amanda Bloom Some say love, it is a river That drowns the tender reed Some say love, it is a razor That leaves your soul to bleed Some say love, it is a hunger An endless aching need I say love, it is a flower And you, its only seed It’s the heart, afraid of breaking That never learns to dance It’s the dream, afraid of waking That never takes the chance It’s the one who won’t be taken Who cannot seem to give And the soul, afraid of dying That never learns to live When the night has been too lonely And the road has been too long And you think that love is only For the lucky and the strong Just remember in the winter Far beneath the bitter snows Lies the seed that with the sun’s love In the spring becomes the rose Read More4 Reply Michele1 week agoMichelebeautiful lyrics and I could hear Bette singing it in my head as I read them. 0 Reply Barb C1 week agoBarb CThis is one of my favorite songs. Thank you for posting it here. 1 Reply Hjt1 week agoHjtThis week found me reflecting on the thorns of the Pope’s visit. Those were the over crowding of patriarchy in the clergy. Finally the Iqaluit visit was a rose as well as the Pope’s words. Too easy for me to jump on a thorn of criticism. I need to listen and smell the rose of another’s word or gesture! Or reaching out to the needs of another- a rose in disguise! 2 Reply KC1 week agoKCLots! - keep setting, working on and following clear intentions. - do whatever is required - to shift my focus and lense to take in, see, honour, appreciate and savour the roses (ie. the bigger picture), and to see, honour and be aware of the thorns as a part of the whole. - bring it into the moment, into the body, and out of the mind. - keep showing up and practicing gratefulness, including this daily question and community. It is an invaluable gift. - keep a fire and keep...Lots! – keep setting, working on and following clear intentions. – do whatever is required – to shift my focus and lense to take in, see, honour, appreciate and savour the roses (ie. the bigger picture), and to see, honour and be aware of the thorns as a part of the whole. – bring it into the moment, into the body, and out of the mind. – keep showing up and practicing gratefulness, including this daily question and community. It is an invaluable gift. – keep a fire and keep the faith. Some days it really is about showing up, trusting, seeing, smelling, savouring, taking in, being with and celebrating the roses. (Says her mind, with great hopes that her body will kick in and jump wholeheartedly into the day!) With thanks, and best for a beautiful Sunday all! KC Read More4 Reply Anita Ward1 week agoAnita WardBegin with the end in mind. Look past the irritation and focus on the goal. 3 Reply Mica1 week agoMicaAh, the thorns are all under water in the vase now – I got the first dozen roses of my life last week – ‘Edith Roses’ – in honor of the woman down the hall who died the same day my guinea pig died and had a ragdoll cat – Rudi – who needed adoption, just as my daughter was going to pick me up to take me to the Humane Society to seek a cat! 4 Reply Michele1 week agoMicheletruly meant to be, amazing. 0 Reply Maeve1 week agoMaeveThis morning I am walking along the rail trail in New Egypt, NJ. The serious “thorns” in so much of our continent is drought. I see it in tulip and sycamore trees as the drop dried leaves, and in the brown lawns everywhere. We desperately need rain. The roses are here as well: the cool breeze along the trail coming from the dense wooded areas along the trail. The summer cicadas are beginning their days’ buzzing. We just saw a beautiful green praying-mantis on the trail, and also to my d...This morning I am walking along the rail trail in New Egypt, NJ. The serious “thorns” in so much of our continent is drought. I see it in tulip and sycamore trees as the drop dried leaves, and in the brown lawns everywhere. We desperately need rain. The roses are here as well: the cool breeze along the trail coming from the dense wooded areas along the trail. The summer cicadas are beginning their days’ buzzing. We just saw a beautiful green praying-mantis on the trail, and also to my delight, a young fox (a rose) looking at us from the under the aggressive, dense, controling cat brier vines (thorns!) Read More3 Reply KC1 week agoKCMaeve, Thank you so much for naming and honouring both the thorns and roses of your walk. 1 Reply Katii1 week agoKatiiSo many of my thorns are thorns that I fear are going to suddenly appear and prick me hard. So one thing I have to do is to remind myself that I am a terrible fortune-teller, and that maybe, just maybe things will turn out well. Then I can enjoy the roses that are there. The other habit is to widen my gaze when I am focused on a thorn. If someone is irritating me, by widening my gaze, I can usually remind myself that there are things that I do appreciate about that person, and usually they are ...So many of my thorns are thorns that I fear are going to suddenly appear and prick me hard. So one thing I have to do is to remind myself that I am a terrible fortune-teller, and that maybe, just maybe things will turn out well. Then I can enjoy the roses that are there. The other habit is to widen my gaze when I am focused on a thorn. If someone is irritating me, by widening my gaze, I can usually remind myself that there are things that I do appreciate about that person, and usually they are much more important than the thorn I was focused on. If one door appears to close for me, then it gives me the possibility to walk through another door, and who knows where that will lead. Even with all the fear and uncertainty of the covid lockdowns we had, there were sweet moments when life was simple and a walk outdoors was such a pleasure. Read More3 Reply GR8FULL1 week agoGR8FULLI think the habit of mind that needs to shift is becoming more self aware and learn to control our minds and thinking. When left to it’s own devices, the mind will do, really really well, what it’s designed to do – identify threats and protect us from them. When we intervene in this process and right-size our threats, the roses become more bountiful and we recognize the duality of all things in our universe. I think. 2 Reply Marnie Jackson1 week agoMarnie JacksonWhen I am anxious – I definitely don’t see the roses as well as the thorns. Unfortunately, my poor husband bears the brunt of my anxiousness. We are working on it by having a once a week appreciation session…..where we have to say 10 things we are thankful for about each other during that week. This feels a bit awkward and silly – but it seems to be another one of life’s lessons that we learned in kindergarten. 🙂 5 Reply Patjos1 week agoPatjosAlways learning. I am glad that you are close enough to come together in this way. 1 Reply sunnypatti1 week agosunnypattiI’d like to think that I always see the roses along with the thorns, but I do sometimes need to remind myself that they’re there. This human experience wouldn’t be as perfectly imperfect without both. We need them both to learn how to be our best selves. 5 Reply Michele1 week agoMicheleThat all experiences, both good and bad, have something to learn from. btw, I’d like to say Happy birthday to Harry Potter! Those books and movies have much to learn from. 🔮💖🧹🧙♀️🐉🐍🦉👻 5 Reply Laura1 week agoLauraExpectations of how things – events, people, circumstances – should be, rather than accepting and flowing with the way things are. Expectations narrow my experience. Acceptance opens me up. Then I can notice the sheer abundance of roses. 5 Reply Javier Visionquest1 week agoJavier VisionquestManifestation is exactly the habit of mind we develop when searching out opportunity among risk, and roses and their thorns are a handy metaphor of the duality between love (attraction) and fear (repulsion) where we exist. It’s partnering with the universe in the process of creation. “Well”, says the Youniverse, “my job is to arrange and present physical possibilities and your job is to choose and enjoy those. (assuming we haven’t yet figured out that we’re only speaking to the broad...Manifestation is exactly the habit of mind we develop when searching out opportunity among risk, and roses and their thorns are a handy metaphor of the duality between love (attraction) and fear (repulsion) where we exist. It’s partnering with the universe in the process of creation. “Well”, says the Youniverse, “my job is to arrange and present physical possibilities and your job is to choose and enjoy those. (assuming we haven’t yet figured out that we’re only speaking to the broader aspect of ourselves in this context) “So, if there’s an experience you’d like to try, if there’s some phenomenon you’d like to bear witness to, energetically charge that possibility!” Read More5 Reply Mica1 week agoMicaManifestation, Javier – that’s what I sometimes experience, to my amazement. The most remarkable being the cat I adopted from a deceased woman down the hall just when I was waiting for my daughter to take me to the Humane Society to adopt a cat. An unexpected benefit is that, if Rudi behaves in some difficult way, I Know he’s the cat I’m supposed to have. I imagine having second thoughts about a Humane Society cat: “Maybe I should have adopted that Other cat” 3 Reply Javier Visionquest1 week agoJavier VisionquestOnce we signal that we might be onto the game, Mica, the universe responds a little differently. Often with humor, little jokes built in to our manifestations. A common one is to experience “exactly what we asked for” and are left to deal with a creation wildly unlike our expectations. 2 Reply Mica1 week agoMicaAdyashanti said his experience was that he’d seek something and then let go of the seeking and it would come. That fits with when I lose something, look for it, give up – and then find it at some point. Yes, some one of these wise people warned also about living with the consequences of getting what you wanted. I forget the details. 1 Reply Rabbit1 week agoRabbitThis question is exactly why I came and have stayed on this site. The thorns have just gotten too big. Here there is acknowledgement that there are thorns and that they are alive and grow. They might be aggressive driving, bad news of the world, or issues of old age. But here, also, we learn through reading, sharing and/or taking a class we can “stop and look” to see there are also roses and then "go" to share the roses. My satellite dish was dirty and I had to look at it every morning. My n...This question is exactly why I came and have stayed on this site. The thorns have just gotten too big. Here there is acknowledgement that there are thorns and that they are alive and grow. They might be aggressive driving, bad news of the world, or issues of old age. But here, also, we learn through reading, sharing and/or taking a class we can “stop and look” to see there are also roses and then “go” to share the roses. My satellite dish was dirty and I had to look at it every morning. My neighbor came and cleaned it for me. All of you have given me encouragement and I have been looking for beauty to post in the Gratitude Lounge. My friend Carol brought me a cute quilt of a rabbit. I am grateful for the roses in my life and for the times that I remember to stop and look for them. I need to do it more often and to remember to share the roses instead of the thorns. Read More9 Reply Patjos1 week agoPatjosThank you for sharing. Be a rose in someone’s garden today 🙂 2 Reply Rabbit1 week agoRabbitI love your words. We are all beauty and thorns at times too. Thank you Patjos. 1 Reply 1 2 Next » My Private Gratitude Journal Write an entry in your private gratefulness journal Get Started This site is brought to you by A Network for Grateful Living, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All donations are fully tax deductible in the U.S.A. DONATE https://gratefulness.org/content/uploads/2015/03/GX-Gold-Participant-L.png Community Engagement Guidelines Privacy Policy [email protected] Connect with us on Social Media: © 2000 - 2022, A Network for Grateful Living Website by Briteweb
