Is it a thorn or a rose? When you see the flower we call roses, what do you see? Do you see one or the other, the rose or the thorn, or do you see the beauty of both? What do roses teach us about ourselves?

When I see roses, I see the rose part first. The beauty is what I see first. I smell its inviting fragrance, and I see tender delicate petals and experience the color bursting forth from its bud. I want to experience the flower fully, so I pull it toward my nose and suddenly realize my touch requires some deliberate, careful handling. As the rose produces its sharp barb to protect itself, I too want to protect my fingers from the rose’s pointed thorns. Would that rose be what it is without either its thorns or its magnificent bud?

What do Roses Have to Do With Humans?

Now, let’s pause our rose scenario for a moment and think about a person for a moment. Pick a person. Any person. Think for a moment about what you see in that person. Do you see rugged, pointed edges, or do you see the beauty embedded that flourishes? Is it one or the other, or is it both?

The whole of who we are makes us who we are. We have prickles and points, and we have smooth, beautiful wonder that inspires both ourselves and others. I’d even go so far to point out we can’t really have one without the other. If we only see the barbs, we’ll experience the sharp points we often want to avoid. (Quick! Run and hide!) If we see only the delicate, unique beauty, we’ll experience that. But how can we appreciate how beautiful it really is without understanding both are present?

How can a rose be a rose without its thorns? How can a person be whole without both the rough edges and the beauty that is embedded in all of us? What do roses teach us about ourselves? Sure, what we focus on is what we get (or so science suggests). Can we really see one without the other—the thorn and the flower? Doesn’t it take both to grasp the whole and understand what it is? We, as people, are roses in another form.

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