The Rose of Gratitude: An Inspirational Story That Will Change Your Perspective on Life

There was a beautiful garden. An old man was sitting on a bench in a corner of the garden. As he sat, he was becoming sad remembering his sorrows. He seemed very sad about the sorrows he had received in life. His son and daughter-in-law were not taking good care of him or even if they were, he was not satisfied with it. The joints of his legs had become stiff, his cataract was also getting ready to ripen, his health was also weak. All these reasons were troubling his mind.

For this reason, despite sitting in the beautiful garden, the old man was not enjoying anything. He was not interested in anything.

At that time a boy came running from there. The boy must have been about six years old. Hearing the old man coughing, the child came to him. Extending his hand towards the old man, he said with joy and emotion as if he had found a treasure: ‘Look! Look! What I have found!’

When the old man looked into his palm, he saw a withered rose flower. Looking at the flower, it seemed that it must have fallen a day or two ago. Half of its petals had fallen off. The gardener must not have pruned it for two or three days, otherwise it would not have been lying like this.

Seeing such a wilted flower, the old man’s face showed disgust. When a person is sad, he becomes a little irritable. The old man also did not like the boy’s arrival. He wanted him to leave as soon as possible. So without answering anything, he turned his face to the other side with a slight smile so that the boy would go away after seeing his disgust.

But the child was very clingy. Instead of leaving, he sat on the same bench! And he sat right next to the old man. After sitting like this for a while, he brought the wilted flower to his nose and sniffed it loudly. Then he said, “Oh! It smells so good!”

Then he turned to the old man and said, ‘Do you want such a nice flower? It smells so good! If you want this flower, I will give it to you just like that! I will find another flower. Shall I give it to you?’

Now the old man got really angry. He did not think it right to tease the little boy. He was looking for a way to get rid of him. Thinking that if he took the flower, I will go away later, he put on a fake smile and said, “Okay, son! If it is such a beautiful flower and you are giving it to me like this, then I have no problem in taking it. Give it to me!” Saying this he started to take the flower.

The child happily extended his hand to give the flower. But he could not recognize where the old man’s extended hand was. The flower fell down instead of falling in the old man’s hand.

The boy was blind in both eyes. The old man took his hand in his hand. He took the flower from him. Then he asked, ‘Son! Do you come here every day? Have you ever seen the flower?’

‘Yes grandfather! I come here to play every day. I have never seen the flower, but I have heard about it from my mother. But grandfather! I have not seen it, yet I know its fragrance very well! My mother tells me its colour, but I know its beautiful fragrance and its beautiful petals very well! What a beautiful flower!’ the child replied to the old man, and saying this he stood up.

Then he said, ‘Grandpa! If you like it, that beautiful flower can be yours from today! If you come here every day, I will bring you such a beautiful flower every day!’ Saying this, he kept jumping and went away from there.

The old man was no longer in a position to say anything. Tears started flowing from both his eyes. How sad he was, even though God had given him all the facilities to see, know and enjoy the world? How many artificial nets of sorrows had he created in his mind and was entangled in them? Even sitting in such a beautiful garden, he could not enjoy even a fraction of the beauty of nature.

Whereas a child who had never seen a flower or a garden could fully enjoy the beauty of that withered flower. All these flowers around him were also not able to give him any happiness to his naked eyes. Who was blind after all? At that moment he realized that no one else was responsible for his sorrows.

The fault was not of any problem or the world, but his own. He did not have the vision to see the world in the right way, which this blind child had. After thinking for a while, he stood up. He took his stick in his hand, but did not rest on it! He was sure that now his legs would not betray him. He started walking towards home with a happy face and firm steps, mentally preparing to see the world from a new perspective and enjoy it!

Just then that blind child passed by him with another flower in his hand. He was going with such enthusiasm that it seemed as if another such sad old man was going to change his life!