Falling in love is a paradox 
in which we discover
 that the beauty that we cherish
 is a reflection of our own heart and soul.

Where do we find the heart of beauty? Do we find it in the rose? But to a rat the beauty of the rose has no meaning, and to a deer any rose means only one thing: food! So what is it that the gardener loves? And how does the gardener love the rose in winter?

We find that these kinds of questions pertain also deeply to how we love one another. We find that love, like the love of a gardener for a rose, unfolds not from the object primarily, but from our own heart and soul as human beings. That is where the beauty that we enjoy is anchored, and the love that flows from it. Thus, when we find beauty in the world we find that it mirrors ourselves.

Have you ever discovered how this mirror enriches our life? We know that beauty enriches our love? We find ourselves in that mirror. In love we find an echo of our own heart reflected back to us in countless ways. That is why love is a universal principle. It is not something that we create, but move with, and if we are daring enough, embrace in its universal splendor, as the protagonists discover, because nothing else makes sense.

In love, if we are daring, we cross the deepest motes, scale the highest mountains, take the greatest chances, and if we are lucky we touch the fringes of heaven. How much richer can life get?

The love story presented here, How Does a Gardener Love the Rose, is made up of three chapters of the novel, Discovering Love, the first episode of the series of novels, The Lodging for the Rose, by Rolf A. F. Witzsche.

ISBN 1897046634 - e-book price: $3.00 

   Available from:

 Powell's Books  Adobe Reader version (PDF) 

   
online with love
for free
see Chapter 9, 10, and 11