A Rose by Any Other Name
A rose, by any other name...What happens when you take away the monikers that define who you are: parent, spouse, child, your work, ethnicity, where you're from, etc.? What's left after you peel back all those layers...the sweet, juicy fruit of your core. How does this inner self compare to the labels we contort ourselves into? Or are you like the rose?
The old adage that implies a rose, by any other name, is still a rose gives rise to some interesting ponderings. First of all, it reflects that you can try to put it into a box, to contain it, manipulate it, change it to fit your desires...but, at the end of the day, it is so true to itself that no matter how it is corrupted, it maintains its integrity.
Interestingly, the rose has been used symbolically for religions and secret societies alike...with some stories mentioning the florescence is so tightly held as to imply secrecy. The rose also doesn't have nectar like other flowers, so it relies on its fragrance to draw what it desires. These are clues to the gifts the rose presents us. As one of the most, if not the most, revered flowers in the world, it has certainly drawn we hominoids in with its spell. It has no pretense, and is a conflagration of dichotomies. On one hand, it is beautiful and pungent, appealing to our senses. On the other hand, it is aloof and has thorns to keep us away. In both cases, it makes no excuse for what it is and is always what it is...this is its most redeeming quality.
So, once we strip back the husk that contains our essence, what is revealed? How far away is our core from what we present to the world? How often, and to what degree do we manipulate our truth to fit some other's mold? We start out by changing one small element, and then another, and another until we cannot be recognized when compared to our first self. Part of the journey for those moving consciously towards enlightenment is to gather back the petals that were set aside until, once again, we are complete like the rose and no matter how we move through the world, we are always expressing in our true form...and beauty emanates from us and draws others to us, just as the rose does. At this moment, a master is born.
