But You Promised Me A Rose Garden

Quotation

 

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.”

 

--Dale Carnegie

 

Reflection

 

“But honey, I never promised you a rose garden, but there have been some roses along the way!” My wife paused, and then replied “Yeah, there have been some roses along the way, but I’ve had to traverse a very thorny briar to reach the occasional rose you have offered me!”

 

Ouch, that hurt, but in all honesty, a true statement of fact.  So many of us are so wrapped up in trying to negotiate the chaos of daily living threatening to devour us, we forget to enjoy the “roses blooming outside our windows”.

 

In today’s topsy, turvy, chaotic world, many of us are just trying to survive from day to day, often feeling like we are losing our minds trying to cope with the daily insults to our sanity. We “shelter in place”, scared and afraid, waiting for a bright light to guide us back to a more serene, tranquil time and place, we enjoyed in the distant past, located still, somewhere in the “rose garden” buried in the dark recesses of our mind.

 

Could it be, this memory of such a place, a beautiful rose garden where we forever remain happy and carefree, is but an illusion? Are the challenges we face during our journey of life, but mere illusions? I believe the true purpose of life is to discover who we are, how we relate to others, and how we relate to the world around us. We can only discover who we are by interacting with the world around us, learning from our mistakes, and improving based on what we learn. The discovery of self is truly awe-inspiring, if we will just look at the roses at our feet!

        

Petition:

 

Creator God, help me learn to live for today, enjoying the beauty of the world in which I live, actually stopping and smelling the roses at my feet, and experiencing the love all around me!

 

Music:

 

A Rose From Another Garden by Dan Seals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0FfaNemqkQ

 Barry