A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully.

Before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw a bud

That would soon blossom. He also saw the thorns,

And he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come

From a plant, burdened with so many sharp thorns?"

Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the

Rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died. So it is

With many people. Within every soul, there is a rose.

The "God-like" qualities planted in us at birth, growing

Amidst the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at

Ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.

We despair, thinking nothing good can possibly come

From us. We neglect to water the good within us, and

Eventually it dies. We never realize our potential. Some

Don’t see the rose within themselves. It takes someone

Else to show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person

Can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and

Find the rose within others.

This is the truest, most innocent, and gracious

Characteristic of love – to know another person, including

Their faults, recognize the nobility in their soul, and yet still

Help another to realize they can overcome their faults.

If we show them the rose, they will conquer the thorns.

Only then will they blossom, and most likely, blooming

Thirty, sixty and hundred-fold, as it is given to them.

Our duty in this world is to help others, by showing

Them their roses and not their thorns.

It is then that we achieve the love we

should feel for each other.

Only then can we bloom in our own garden.

Author Unknown.