Friday, December 08, 2006 Rose among thorns By Rene Lizada Papa's Table
THE Mission is a movie about some Jesuit priests who venture into the jungles of some South American tribe to spread the word of God. They succeed to a certain degree but the greed of some colonialists threatens the tribe and the priests have to make a decision on how to defend the tribe. But the movie is also a story about a man who atones for his sins.
In one of the most moving scenes in the movie, Father Gabsits is in the middle of the jungle and brings out his oboe. He wanted the Indians to come out from the forest. And in the stillness of the forest a beautiful melody wells up from the oboe. Ennio Morricone did the soundtrack that weaves an inspiring piece, which is called Gabriel's Oboe.
You should hear it, it is so inspiring. So heavenly, so divine. And that song has been one of my favorites. The melody itself has lifted me so many times, transported me. As far as I was concerned the song did not need lyrics. But something wonderful happened. Because of a hunch I decided to browse the Net and find out if the song had lyrics and guess what, someone wrote lyrics for the song.
At first I was skeptical about looking at the lyrics because I thought it would destroy the purity of the song. But when I heard the song I knew that I had to look at the lyrics. It was sung by this Portuguese singer who has an absolutely angelic voice, Dulce Ponte. The song is called A Rose Among Thorns. And I share the lyrics:
From a simple prayer
That began as a whisper in a quiet place
A dream can inspire the world
A voice echo far away
The wind can take our thoughts
From the wasteland where we walk
Into a pure land
As heroes proudly stand
Like a rose among thorns
From a simple act
That began in the corner of an unlit place
A vision embraces the world
A million candles blaze
We rise above ourselves
With dignity somehow
Reach that Promised Land
As heroes proudly stand
Like a rose that grows
In spite of it all
A simple rose among thorns
In every lifetime we find a heart
That lights a spark in the eyes of the weary
Who can lead me to a greater love
Show there's good in us
Whenever I listen to that song it reminds me of the beauty of our selves. You and I are magnificent creatures, capable of goodness and light, able to look at our dreams with power and grace. We are perfect where we are. And where we are is the place where we were meant to be. We are not accidents, we are miracles and we all have a gift to share in this world and in this life.
For years I struggled to be what others wanted me to be and I guess you have to. For years we tried to abide with what others thought we might be and we thought we were alive, we were living because we did what they asked of us, only to find out that that we were chasing were phantoms.
We were doing what they wanted us to be and not being what we were. And if you are lucky, in the end you find out the fallacy of trying to be what you are not. Your happiness, our happiness does not stem from trying but from being.
And if they, and they can be anyone, do not accept you for what you are, then they are not worth your time and your presence. Persons who try to mold you into what they want are selfish and myopic. And shallow.
You can only be free if you are true to yourself. Even if that means to be a rose among thorns. I like the image of that song. To be a rose among thorns because you only bloom when you are real and true. Even if you are among thorns, you blossom to full possibility because it is not what surrounds you that is important but what is inside you.
Even among thorns you are real as real can be. And you shall not be affected no matter what because you are true. It is difficult to be different but it is more difficult to be untrue.
"We rise above ourselves with dignity somehow" is an exultation of ourselves, a celebration of who we are. When we are able to rise above what has put us down then we understand what dignity is. We may stagger and stumble and even fall, yet we rise, yet we stand. Yet we remain who we are.
When people throw mud at our faces, insult us, mock us because we are different let us celebrate because we have the courage to be who we are. Remember, people who are vicious are afraid. People who are cruel are frightened. Violence stems from fear. And fear comes from the unknown. We know who we are. We are true. And we have found ourselves.
For years we struggled to be like what they wanted us to be. Let us be glad that we are not like them. I am. Seek other roses. How can you find them? "In every lifetime we find a heart That lights a spark in the eyes of the weary Who can lead me to a greater love Show there's good in us."
Those who seek our goodness, our light and possibility are roses, real roses. Others are just, well, plastic. The irony of it all is that sometimes in our so called families and in our so called friends we try to be what they want us to be because we want to be accepted and loved and when finally the curtain is raised we see the truth about them and us. For years I tried to be what some people wanted me to be only to realize in the end that I am so grateful that I am not like them. I am eternally thankful for that.
We see that real love is not about molding or shaping but of accepting. We see that genuine love is taking the person for what he or she is. And when that happens we come full circle. We see the light.
If you are a rose among thorns, be glad. The greatest of all roses after all, had a crown of thorns on His head.
