The Rose, too

[Guest guest]

J wrote:

THE ROSE (by Bette Midler)Some say love it is a riverThat drowns the

tender reedSome say love it is a razorthat leaves your soul to

bleedSome say love it is a hungeran endless aching needI say love it

is a flowerand you it's only seedIt's the heart afraid of

breakingthat never learns to danceIt's the dream afraid of wakingthat

never takes the chanceIt's the one who won't be takenwho cannot seem

to giveand the soul afraid of dyin'that never learns to liveWhen the

night has been too lonelyand the road has been too longand you think

that love is onlyfor the lucky and the strongJust remember in the

winterfar beneath the bitter snowslies the seed that with the sun's

lovein the spring becomes the rose

Dear J:

The missive below was sent to me by a friend on another listserv a

week ago...I sent it out to yet another listserv with the words to

the song added and now the song comes back to me from you, J. The

circle is complete so I will go around again! I will take your post

as my open door to enter into the room of Roses...oh, there she

is...the Rose I am looking for..come here, Rose...there is someone I

want to introduce you to...thank you, J :-)

Love,

Joyce

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Something nice to go to sleep on or wake up to.....or whatever.DREAMS

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and

challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood

up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned

around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a

smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old.

Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded,

"Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in

college at such young, innocent age?" I asked.

She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married,

have couple of kids...No seriously," I asked. I was curious what

may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I

always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting

one!" she told me. After class we walked to the student union

building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends.

Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and

talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time

machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.Over the

course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made

friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in

the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was

living it up. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at

our footballbanquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was

introduced and stepped up to the podium.

As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by

five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed, she

leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so

jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me!

I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I

know." A we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not

stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and

achieving success."

"You have to laugh and find humor every day."

"You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We

have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know

it!"

"There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If

you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't

do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am

eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do

anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That

doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always

finding the opportunity in change.""Have no regrets. The elderly

usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we

did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose." She

challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our

daily lives.

At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all

those years ago.One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her

sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in

tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never

too late to be all you can possibly be. When you finish reading this,

please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family,

they'll really enjoy it!

These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.REMEMBER,

GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY! GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.We make a Living

by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.God promises a safe

landing, not a calm passage.If God brings you to it - He will bring

you through it.Lord I love You and I need You, come into my heart,

Today.For without You I can do nothing.

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/join

All paths go

somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights, perceptions,

and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside back

into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of

Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It

is Home. Home is where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the

Finality of Eternal Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of

Self-Knowledge, spontaneously arising from within into It Self.

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