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The Rose
I had just taken my father to the hospital for a test, and was waiting for him in the waiting room when an old man, who seemed to be a regular patient there, approached me and we started talking.
Later on I found out that he was 75 years old and had had four by-pass operations, waiting for his fifth. He was a very kind and gentle grandfatherly man, with a quiet husky voice, and seemed to know everybody in that hospital by their first names.
We chatted a short while, and I asked him to share a little of his wisdom with me, to which he replied, "in life, be a rose."
He obviously noticed my confusion because he continued:
"A rose simply grows, expressing what it is, and eventually reaches its essence and being by blooming in its full glory.
"A rose never goes out advertising or marketing itself, telling the world what a beautiful rose it is. It simply emanates its beauty, and the world notices it, in spite of its quiet demeanor."
Then he asked me, "have you ever seen a rose shouting at the bees telling them, `come here, I am a rose, and I can nourish you'? The rose simply sits there and the bees somehow know where it is. They go and find the rose."
I was quite impressed by his analogy, but looking at the state of my own life I asked him, "but what if a rose grows in the middle of a desert, where there are no bees?" He simply smiled and said, "don't confuse yourself. Have you ever seen a rose growing in the middle of a desert?"
I sheepishly smiled and admitted that I was taking the argument too far. He then continued, "you are always at the right place for expressing your beauty and essence. Your job is to simply be the rose, and not worry. The bees will find you."
© Shahriar Shahriari
March 1997
Vancouver Canada
© , 1997-2005. Vancouver Canada, & Los Angeles, CA
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This page was last modified on Monday, November 01, 2004.