Once there was a garden of beautiful flowers. This garden was full of all the colors of the rainbow captured in each petal of every flower that was in it except, that is, for a single rosebud that had not bloomed with the other flowers that spring.
She would look upon the other flowers each morning as the sun rose and shone upon them and admired their beauty as most people did who passed by this garden. While she was happy to see their beauty being appreciated, inside she felt such sadness because her own beauty was not as easily seen as it was with the other flowers. Since she had yet to bloom, her beauty was kept deep inside of her. Her sadness came from wondering if she would ever bloom and if she didn't, would anyone ever take the time to and try and see what she had on the inside to offer? Or would she spend the rest of her days hidden in that garden by the lovliness that surrounded her but that she might never know herself?
Each day as people would walk past, they would often stop to take in the beauty before them and indulge in the banquet of scents that were but a few deep breaths away. Our little rosebud would do her best to straighten herself right up in hopes that maybe she would receive just a passing glance or a smile or even just a brief sniff but as each day drew to a close, her hopes were dashed. As each day passed she grew sadder and sadder and she wondered why, out of all the roses in this garden, was she the one to be left behind? Why hadn't her inner beauty been able to find it's way so easily to the outside as it did with the rest of the flowers in the garden? Then one day, something happened that changed everything.
A mother with her little daughter slowly walked past the garden and stopped, as many people did everyday. But this visitor was different. The mother gently took her daughter's hands and guided her little fingers over each flower and each petal. As she did, the little girl leaned in to smell each flower and appreciate it's scent. Her little hands seemed to explore each blossom and didn't miss a single one.....including our little rosebud. In fact since this flower felt much different to her than the rest, the little girl seemed to take a special interest in it. She held our little rosebud with extra love it seemed. Maybe it was because this flower was different from the others. Maybe because this little girl knew what it was like to be different from the others herself. This little girl could not see with her eyes but rather, this little girl saw the world through her little fingers and with her heart. She saw with her heart what most of the world couldn't see with their eyes. This one little girl helped our little rosebud to see her life in that garden in a whole different way.
She realized that her beauty didn't need to be seen to be appreciated and even though it took some time, someone DID find her at last and loved her as much...or maybe even more... than the other flowers in the garden. The rosebud had never felt so happy before. She felt as if she was warm and glowing like a firefly on a warm summer's evening. She finally felt special for the very first time. She knew now that even if she never opened up and blossomed like the others, she could still be happy. Even if many passed her by, for the ones that took the time to notice her, her scent and beauty would be even sweeter. This truth brought her much happiness and contentment. But in time, as what often happens when we stop worrying about things and just let them be, a magical change occurred.
Through those warm summer days and unexpected rainshowers, Mother Nature was working her wonders, slowly but surely. As summer was drawing to a close, the little rosebud suddenly bloomed and her beautiful soft, fragrant petals smelled all the sweeter because they had taken their time to be seen by the world. By this point of the summer, most of the other flowers in this garden had already seen their best days and were starting to wither from the long, hot days that had passed, but not our little rosebud. This was HER time to be noticed by everyone and everyone DID notice her. They smiled when they saw her, felt her soft petals and enjoyed her fragrance. She was happy indeed but as much as all this meant to her, she never forgot about that one special little girl who made her realize just how beautiful she truly was all along.
The moral of the story is this. Happiness, like roses, does often bloom but sometimes it takes it's own sweet time in doing so. And some roses will have their beautiful petals open up and feel the sun shine warm upon them, to be admired by all who see them...... while others might bloom in a different way, keeping their beautiful petals on the inside. But we must always remember this..... just because beauty can't always be seen with our eyes, doesn't mean it isn't there. We each have our own unique way of showing our own inner and outer beauty to the world. Learn to see things not only with your eyes but with your heart, too, and if you do, you will be happily surprised to find out just how much those lonely little late bloomers have to offer..... as they wait patiently for their time in the sun.
