The Parable of the Rose, a story to think about

Life has its complications, and daily we are faced with challenges that increasingly demand our dexterity, humility and empathy. Therefore, there are often stories, parables or even quotes that end up helping us to be better people.

In this regard, the parable of the rose has been heard for a long time. This parable tells that a man, a long time ago, had planted a rose. This man constantly took care of the plant, watered it, fertilized it and did everything necessary for it to grow well.

But long before the flower could bloom, the man looked closely at the bud of the rose, and noticed that its stem was completely covered with thorns. Seeing this, the man sadly muttered,  “How is it possible for such a beautiful rose to be surrounded by such sharp thorns?”

With that, the man became discouraged and started not taking care of the plant anymore, which caused the flower, even long before it was ready to bloom, to die.

Like a rose, we have a soul that has the same characteristics as it. We have a soul that has within it the countless qualities that are given by God, like the petals and beauty of a rose. So, as we also have our flaws, which are like the thorns present in the stem of the flower.

In the same way that man judged the rose, we go through self-judgments daily, and we often let ourselves be carried away only by our flaws and we end up getting discouraged, thinking that only bad things can come out of ourselves.

All this self-judgment ends up making us unable to feed our good part, our virtues, all because we don’t see our potential. We stopped watering ourselves, just like the rose, and ended up dying, even before we tried.

This kind of situation doesn’t just happen with self-judgment. As human beings, inconsequential and flawed, we end up judging our neighbours as well, making the cycle we allow ourselves to live become a cycle of living for others.

We end up pointing to the thorns of others, just as we point to our own, we create an unprecedented judgment and forget that first of all, we must give the other a chance to show who they really are.

For this reason, many of us end up letting people of immense potential and immeasurable beauty simply pass through our lives, like the breeze, without being noticed or properly welcomed. And the cycle keeps growing, creating people less and less aware of the inner beauty they can carry.

Therefore, it is necessary for us to be more empathetic, with ourselves and with our neighbors. We do not know how the thorns that each one carries were acquired, and much less should we judge the other for having them. We must be welcoming, good listeners and open-hearted.

Often life gives us chances to be better, and we must always hold on to every speck of hope that life and God can provide us.

Thus, in the future we will be lighter souls, more understood and empathetic with others. Remember that we should not judge appearances, but keep fighting to praise the virtues that exist in each of us.