Reflections

Please log in or Create a Profile to post a comment.

  1. E
    Ella

    Simply 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.

    2 years ago
  2. A
    Amita

    To 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 years ago
  3. Cathie

    I believe I do see the roses along with the thorn-at least I feel like I do:)

    2 years ago
  4. dragonfly

    If 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.

    2 years ago
  5. Don Jones

    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.

    2 years ago
  6. d
    db82258

    I 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.

    2 years ago
  7. Carol

    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

    2 years ago
    1. Michele

      beautiful lyrics and I could hear Bette singing it in my head as I read them.

      2 years ago
    2. Barb C

      This is one of my favorite songs. Thank you for posting it here.

      2 years ago
  8. Hjt

    This 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 years ago
  9. KC

    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

    2 years ago
  10. A
    Anita Ward

    Begin with the end in mind. Look past the irritation and focus on the goal.

    2 years ago
  11. Mica

    Manifestation, 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”

    2 years ago
    1. Mica

      Adyashanti 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.

      2 years ago
  12. Mica

    Ah, 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!

    2 years ago
    1. Michele

      truly meant to be, amazing.

      2 years ago
  13. Maeve

    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!)

    2 years ago
    1. KC

      Maeve,

      Thank you so much for naming and honouring both the thorns and roses of your walk.

      2 years ago
  14. Katii

    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.

    2 years ago
  15. GR8FULL

    I 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 years ago
1 2

Subscribe to Grateful Living

Give yourself the gift of free bi-monthly inspiration including uplifting articles, diverse stories, supportive practices, videos, and more, delivered with heart to your inbox.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Customize your subscription