36 - Cactus and Rose

The Cactus and the Rose - by Katrin Bentley

A long time ago I was a rose and you were a beautiful, strong, and reliable cactus.

I loved your strength, your confidence and your appearance, but I found it hard to live with you in the desert.

You wanted me to suit you, and started to cut off my green leaves. The ground in the desert was dry, the climate harsh, and I desperately needed water to live. 

Slowly I started to wither and lose my flowers.

I missed the nice garden soil, the fertilizer, and all the other colourful plants, but somehow I felt that I didn’t fit into the garden environment anymore. 

My remaining leaves had become tougher and I almost looked like a cactus!

I learned to ignore the harsh sun and the sandstorms. I stopped to feel thirsty.

In fact I stopped to feel much at all . . . That was easier on one hand, but sometimes I remembered how I used to enjoy the refreshing raindrops on my leaves after a morning shower, or the gentle touch of a butterfly passing by. 

I felt strange there next to you in the desert. I had no idea that you were a cactus, I wasn’t aware that this plant existed.

I was confused and desperately tried to turn you into a rose. That must have been so difficult for you! You tried to be one, and as long as you did everything like a rose, you were loved by me and all the other roses, but as soon as you behaved like a cactus everybody turned away from you.

Finally you gave up and avoided all the gardens.

You became even more of a cactus, why should you make an effort, when all you got was resentment for not being what everybody else wanted you to be?

You retired back into solitude, finding you own company more pleasant than being with others. 

The roses didn’t only turn away from you, they also left me out, after all we didn’t have much in common anymore. I was a troubled and withered plant, no fun to be with! They wanted to spend their days talking about different fertilizers, a topic on which I had nothing to contribute. 

So I joined you in your solitude an learned to gain strength from within myself. 

Oh yes, I missed my colourful times in the garden, because as much as you will always be a cactus, I will always be a rose!

(An excerpt)