From Georgia with Love: Roses as a Reminder of Beauty, World Peace and Embracing Imperfection

Symbols of beauty and peace are desperately needed at all times to lift the spirits and remind us that even though there exists a constant barrage of evilness and ugliness in the world, there also exists a wondrous world of enchantment as well.

Is there anything more beautiful and majestic than a rose in full bloom?

Sure. A garden filled with roses in full bloom, and in a variety of colors.

A Life-Changing Visit

In September of last year, I had the opportunity to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. World Peace Rose Garden in Atlanta, GA, which is part of the larger memorial dedicated to his legacy, The King Center.

While walking the grounds and seeing the Eternal Flame, the Reflecting Pool, his and Coretta Scott’s tomb, the place where he was born and the church where he first began his ministry, I kept thinking about how much Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated for peace — including peaceful protest — but how he was taken away from this world in such a violent manner.

What an immense tragedy!

Of course, that’s the importance and biggest lesson of the memorial--someone chose to make a statement that one person’s vision of peace meant nothing and that it needed to be stopped and silenced. The memorial says otherwise. Dr. King’s message did mean something — a great something.

It would be a dreary world indeed without the enduring existence of love and hope for the future.

What I learned about imperfection

Dr. King was not a perfect person. None of us are though. I’ve long been a fan of not only Dr. King, but also John Lennon, who famously advocated for peace as well.

I still remember reading for the first time — albeit quite a few years ago now — about the many unsavory aspects of Lennon's life. It gave me pause and caused me to question whether I should remain a fan and an admirer.

A similar thing happened a few years ago when I wrote a post about Ernest Hemingway, one of my favorite writers. While most of the comments readers left on that post were favorable, a few felt the need to point out how much of a misogynistic person he was, amongst other such negative aspects of his character. This bothered me and so I took the post down.

I regret that now though. If anyone has lived the perfect life, then they are in a position to judge, I suppose. I'm not one of those people. I still consider Hemingway to be one of my favorite writers and one of my biggest influences, despite his imperfections.

And I still admire John Lennon as well and consider him to be one my favorite song writers of all time.

Dr. King was not perfect either, as at times there will be people who will point out the unsavory aspects of this life as well.

All three remind me that it’s ok to be an imperfect person — I don’t have to give in to the shame people assign to otherwise good or heroic deeds. I don’t have to run away and hide because of my mistakes either. I can be brave, own up to my failures and still shine.

Love, forgiveness, peace, unity — these are the aspects to take away from a person’s legacy, not the imperfections.

A big thank you to John Lennon, Ernest Hemingway and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for leaving us your powerful message of peace, love and, in a roundabout way, embracing imperfections.

Dear roses, please allow me to harness your strength and remain peaceful and calm in the face adversity. Give me a reason to hope and feel love. It’s so easy to forget!