Lessons from Nature (2)

I was looking at a picture of a rose just now and yesterday I was watering the Orchids in my garden and thinking how wonderful they are going to look in a month from now and I got to thinking. Why can’t we humans accept ourselves as we are? Why do we put ourselves through agonies of envy because we would prefer to have the gifts of another rather than those we have been given. Why are we so concerned about the opinions of others that we try to change ourselves to be what we think others expect us to be?

If only we could accept ourselves as we are and realise that the object of life is to do the best we can with what we have and not make ourselves miserable because it seems the contributions made by others appear so much better and more important than ours. When it comes to balancing the account of our lives, there is no absolute measure. All is comparative. The greater the gifts you have been given, the more privileged the life you have been born into, the more you will be expected to contribute. However, in the final analysis, it is not what each of us has done, or the contribution we have made that has been recognised as great in the way the world sees greatness, that is important. It is that each should give according to his ability, no more, no less.

The difference our presence has made in the life of others is the true measure of our lives, I believe. The grand gesture is all very well but it is the hard and dedicated work behind the scenes, out of the public eye that really matters. Look back on the effect certain people have had on your own life. Is it not true that those who made the greatest impact were those who were totally their own person? People who were happy with themselves, how they were and where they were; people unconcerned about making a huge impact upon the world at large; people who wished to be remembered for their role in their own small corner of the world. Good mothers do not put on airs and graces in front of their children. Good teachers are not concerned with impressing their pupils with their intellect or superior knowledge; rather they want to encourage the pupils to make the most of themselves.

What do the rose and the orchid tell us? They demonstrate to us that allowing their light to shine before all is their true destiny. So it should be for us. Their scent is not reserved for those the flowers consider worthy; it is available to all, without exception. There is no judgement and there is no trace of envy. The rose does not envy the orchid or the orchid wish it could grow in cooler climes. The rose does not wish for the kiss of the humming bird when it grows where there are none. The rose is content to be a rose. It gives its all to bring delight to everyone, with its beauty and its scent. So too do the humble forget-me-not and the meadow daisy.

“Be content”, as Alexander Pope said, “To be as blessed as thou canst bear…All are but parts of one stupendous whole… As full, as perfect, in a hair, as heart; As full, as perfect in vile man that mourns, As in the rapt seraph that adores and burns.” I mentioned in a post the other day how important it is to do the best we can but each of us has our limits. The limit for one is much different from that for another because of our circumstances. “Who does the best his circumstance allows, does well, acts nobly; Angels could do no more.”
So remember always, as you stop to smell the rose, or admire the shape, texture and colour of the orchid that they are giving, giving, giving, and they ask nothing in return. They care not for anything except their need to do their best, whether they are a wild dog rose or a cultivated hybrid tea. Their râison d’etre is much closer to, “Ours is not to reason why…,” than it is to “Look at me, aren’t I the best?”

Lack of self confidence and low self esteem are twin causes of vast unhappiness in our world. They are both rooted in a failure to understand the simple truth that each one of us is exactly what we are supposed to be, in the place we are supposed to be and able to contribute to life in our own special and individual way. Dare to be a rose and focus only on the beauty of your petals and the sweetness of your scent. Make them the best that is within your power. Do not waste your energy bemoaning the fact that the colour of this or that flower is more attractive to more people or their scent stronger than yours. So long as you are sure you have done your best, you have no need for reproach or to lower your self-esteem. Your contribution is no less important in the scheme of things for without it, the whole is diminished.