Judgement and Roses
As I look out my window and see the multiple colors of the Fall leaves, I remember that winter is coming, and I have gardening chores that need to be done to secure the lives and well being of my annual and perennial plants.
This leads me to my overgrown and large Carpet Rose. She is a beautiful plant that provides me with an abundance of scented flowers, greenery and thorns. Large, sharp thorns.
Every few years, I must put on my hardy leather gloves, trim her overgrown branches and “bushy” parts off of her so that she will bloom beautifully in the spring and through following summer seasons. It’s kind of like I give this gigantic, overgrown plant a major haircut.
The difference between a flower and a weed is judgement. This amazing, majestic plant provides beauty for my eyes and joy to my sense of smell. It also gives me cuts and painful punctures to my skin.
Should I judge her thorns as a nuisance or as a safe haven for the birds that take sanctuary in this large plant’s majestic, strong, loving and unconditional arms? As I trim, I often find nests that have housed tiny eggs that have matured, hatched and grown to be the singing birds that provide music to my sense of hearing.
This reminds me to judge all with love. Judge all with optimism. Judge with the totality of all of Mother Earth’s Creature’s needs in mind. Judge knowing that there is room for all, including thorns.