Passage 22 GrowthWhen we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice it is small, but we do not criticize it as “rootless and stemless
” We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed
When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don’t condemn it as immature and underdeveloped, nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear
We stand in wonder at the process taking place, and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development
The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies
Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential
It seems to be constantly in the process of change: Yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is
A flower is not better when it blooms than when it is mere