My Thoughts For The Day: A Bed of Roses

We often hear people wishing life was 'a bed of roses'. And I wonder why?

A bed of roses is pretty; it is a visual feast for the eye.

It is also inviting; its fragrance so hypnotic, it entices you with its scent.

It is definitely tempting; its beauty so alluring, you'll be seduced into picking it (for a loved one, perhaps).

But be careful, be very wary; you might be pricked by the rose's vengeful thorns. For the rose is indeed deceitful.

The bed of roses is just like life itself. Life is made up of many happy moments, many wonderful and unforgettable experiences. But every now and then, it places obstacles and challenges in our way and we get hurt.

We can't foretell the time of happening. We can't fathom the depth of its pain. And it is impossible to predict the tide and term of the suffering. The only thing we do know, and that is the only certainty, is it can and will happen. But, fortunately for many of us, we take comfort in the knowledge that, by faith, all injuries can be healed.

This world we live in is an imperfect one. Like the bed of roses, the world is a beautiful place to be in. Alas, like the roses in the bed, the world can be deceptive and its inhabitants, deceitful!

Once, a Buddhist friend told me that we were all born into this world to suffer. This reminds me of what my Catholic priest told me: first wear the crown of thorns, experience the suffering Christ, then you may rejoice in his resurrection.

So, isn't life already like a bed of roses? Why wish it to be like one?

Shouldn't we wish, instead, for life to be like a field of lilies (or golden daffodils)?

William Blake wrote:

The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,
The humble sheep a threat’ning horn:
While the Lily white shall in love delight,
Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright.