Blessed Thorns
I opened a fortune cookie that had the message “There is no rose without a thorn.” Initially, I took this to mean that with every thing of beauty, there is also pain and/or suffering but the message might be deeper than a simple contrast between “good” and “bad”.
It is natural and good that roses have thorns. Both exist to harmoniously protect and advance the life of the entire plant. Both are equally blessed and equally beautiful expressions of truth. Can we “improve” the rose by cutting off all the thorns? Perhaps, we would be better served to see the entire rose bush as it truly is rather than trying manipulate it into what we want it to be. Might we also see the totality of our own lives, thorns and all, as a beautiful blessing?