thoughts on the news of the day: roses

hmmm…..

            I have been watching my roses bloom lately.  They start out as tiny buds – pips, really and over a day or two, explode into the most vibrant bundles of color – reds, hot pinks and pale soft creamy pink petals abound in my back yard. 

            We are like that bud, we are produced by the roots and stems of our physical growth.  If we are lucky, we also mature spiritually.  We begin to see the importance of relying on God, of having faith and hope and love in our hearts.  The spirit within us grows; it gets stronger and bigger.  And like a budding flower, it blossoms to all sorts of beauty.

            The trick is, it can never be put back into that little bud.  Like a corn stalk that can never be put back into the kernel of corn; like the oak tree that can never be shrunk back into an acorn, our spirits can never compress back into our old habits and patterns.  As Oprah says, once we know better, we do better.  And when we do better, it is pretty much impossible to go back to the way things once were.

            Our spiritual journey is a never ending spiral and as we keep winding up the mountaintop, the path gets steeper and narrower.  Our expectations for ourselves become more demanding, and going back to old bad behavior just doesn’t work anymore.  We are beautiful blossoms, and can’t be put back into our old tiny buds. 

            Enjoy the journey, blossom and mature.  And may God be with you as you grow.

            hmmm…..