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Today's
Meditation:
Thorns
are a problem only when we aren't careful of them.
Millions of people handle roses every day without being
stuck by thorns, and as long as we're careful we can do
the same. Why do we see the thorn as such a negative
part of the rosebush? If it weren't for the thorns
that make animals avoid eating the plants and flowers, we
probably never would even have roses.
Life
has its thorns, too. Orison is saying that we need
to accept those thorns, fully and unconditionally, as we
accept the world just as it is. Not how we want it
to be, and not how we think it's supposed to be--just as
it is. Many parents live under the mistaken
assumption that the best thing they can do for their kids,
for example, is to remove all the thorns from their lives
so that they don't have to face as many problems.
Dealing with the thorns, though, is what helps young
people develop problem-solving skills, as well as
important personality traits such as character.
One
of Orison's key points is to "make up our minds"
to accept the world. This is a decision, and not
always the easiest one to make. In my life there are
plenty of thorns right now, especially in financial
matters, but they are what they are and no amount of
fretting or agonizing will change the fact. I have
to deal with the thorns, and that's okay. The
problems are helping me to learn more about myself and how
I deal with adversity, and they're helping me to develop
my faith in God and life. They're there, and while
I'm doing my best not to get stuck and hurt by them, I do
accept them for what they are.
I
don't see life as a battle, but I do see that we often are
caught up in battles of our own as we try to find peace,
happiness, and balance in our lives. I believe that
if we can accept Orison's advice here, the idea of being
at battle will go away and we'll begin to see life as a
process of cooperation rather than conflict. And
that all because we decide to accept thorns on the roses,
bumps in the road, obstacles in our paths.
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