--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can complain because rose bushes have…" description: "\"“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.”\" — Alphonse Karr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/alphonse-karr-16999_complaints_we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have_2440628.jpg" --- # We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or… ![“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.” quote by Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/alphonse-karr-16999_complaints_we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have_2440628.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/alphonse-karr-16999_complaints_we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have_2440628.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/alphonse-karr-16999_complaints_we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have_2440628.jpg) > ““We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.”” [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perspective determines whether you see hardship as a problem or an opportunity. **In simple terms:** Seeing the good in difficulty changes your outlook. Key Takeaway Reframe challenges positively. Themes perspective hardship opportunity Mood hopeful inspired Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - mental health - creative work - conflict resolution Key Concepts cognitive reframing optimism Questions to Reflect On - How can you find beauty in pain? - What does a thorn symbolize for you? A Different Perspective Focusing on negatives can be protective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bushes Thorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bushes-thorns-485333/) [Complain Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complain-rose-485334/) [Complaints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complaints/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Glass half full](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glass-half-full/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Misattributed-abraham-lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misattributed-abraham-lincoln-123086/) [Optimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimism/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Pessimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimism/) [Positive thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-thinking/) [Rejoice Thorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejoice-thorns-485330/) [Rose bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rose-bush/) [Roses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roses/) [Thorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thorns/) [Thorns Rejoice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thorns-rejoice-485331/) [Thorns Roses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thorns-roses-485332/) ## Related quotes > [You can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/you-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have-thorns-or-rejoice-because/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have-thorns-or-rejoice-because/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-complain-because-roses-have-thorns-or-you-can-rejoice-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [U can complain coz roses have thorns or u can rejoice coz thorns have roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/u-can-complain-coz-roses-have-thorns-or-u-can-rejoice-coz-thorns-have/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [“The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-foolish-and-the-dead-alone-never-change-their-opinion/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [I am thankful that thorns have roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/i-am-thankful-that-thorns-have-roses/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [Let us try to see things from their better side: You complain about seeing thorny rose bushes; Me, I rejoice and give thanks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/let-us-try-to-see-things-from-their-better-side-you-complain-about/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [“I can complain because rosebushes have thorns or rejoice because thornbushes have roses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-templeton/i-can-complain-because-rosebushes-have-thorns-or-rejoice-because/) [Sir John Templeton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-john-templeton/) > [“People complain because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses because I have finally learned not to pick them the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/people-complain-because-roses-have-thorns-i-am-thankful-that-thorns/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Don't be sad that roses have thorns. Be glad that thorns have Roses. Today's the day I worried about yesterday and it didn't happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/don-t-be-sad-that-roses-have-thorns-be-glad-that-thorns-have-roses/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [“Love will reveal the pathway from thorns to roses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayita-bhattacharjee/love-will-reveal-the-pathway-from-thorns-to-roses/) [Jayita Bhattacharjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayita-bhattacharjee/) > [“The existence of thorns on roses do not reduce the beauty that they hold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonie-a-anderson/the-existence-of-thorns-on-roses-do-not-reduce-the-beauty-that-they/) [Leonie A. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonie-a-anderson/) > [“She could go on asking herself why roses had thorns or she could be thankful that thorns had roses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-griffin/she-could-go-on-asking-herself-why-roses-had-thorns-or-she-could-be/) [Ella Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-griffin/) > [Some people grumble that roses have thorns but other are thankful that thorns have roses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/some-people-grumble-that-roses-have-thorns-but-other-are-thankful/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“Everyone will find what he's looking for. Nothing pleases everyone: this man gathers thorns, that one roses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petronius/everyone-will-find-what-he-s-looking-for-nothing-pleases-everyone/) [Petronius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petronius/) ## More by Alphonse Karr > [“I do not believe in any wise man until I have heard him say << I doubt it>> three times and << I don’t know >> two times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/i-do-not-believe-in-any-wise-man-until-i-have-heard-him-say-i-doubt/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [The more it changes, the more it's the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/the-more-it-changes-the-more-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [The more things change, the more they are the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/the-more-things-change-the-more-they-are-the-same/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [We can invent only with memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/we-can-invent-only-with-memory/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [Uncertainty is the worst of all evils until the moment when reality makes us regret uncertainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/uncertainty-is-the-worst-of-all-evils-until-the-moment-when-reality/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [If women only knew the extent of their power!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/if-women-only-knew-the-extent-of-their-power/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [If men knew all that women think, they'd be twenty times more daring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/if-men-knew-all-that-women-think-they-d-be-twenty-times-more-daring/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [Love in marriage should be the accomplishment of a beautiful dream, and not, as it too often is, the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/love-in-marriage-should-be-the-accomplishment-of-a-beautiful-dream/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [If men knew all that women think, they would be twenty times more audacious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/if-men-knew-all-that-women-think-they-would-be-twenty-times-more/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [I gather from a lawyer that there was a rehearsal yesterday. We haven't a hope. I know the presiding judge too: I've had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/i-gather-from-a-lawyer-that-there-was-a-rehearsal-yesterday-we-haven/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [Dress is the great business of all women, and the fixed idea of some.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/dress-is-the-great-business-of-all-women-and-the-fixed-idea-of-some/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [The more the change, the more it is the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/the-more-the-change-the-more-it-is-the-same-thing/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [Botany is the art of insulting flowers in Greek and Latin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/botany-is-the-art-of-insulting-flowers-in-greek-and-latin/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [Avoid all haste; calmness is an essential ingredient of politeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/avoid-all-haste-calmness-is-an-essential-ingredient-of-politeness/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/some-people-are-always-grumbling-because-roses-have-thorns-i-am/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) [Explore all 36 Alphonse Karr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) ## More Complaints quotes > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [The proliferation of right-to-carry laws throughout the states has drawn plaintive complaints from the criminal element. They feel that it makes their profession too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-cooper/the-proliferation-of-right-to-carry-laws-throughout-the-states-has/) [Jeff Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-cooper/) > [Gratitude is the law of increase, and complaint is the law of decrease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-scovel-shinn/gratitude-is-the-law-of-increase-and-complaint-is-the-law-of-decrease/) [Florence Scovel Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-scovel-shinn/) > [I was so drunk last night I fell down and missed the floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-martin/i-was-so-drunk-last-night-i-fell-down-and-missed-the-floor/) [Dean Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-martin/) > [Wherever I am, I see the yoke on women in some form or another. On some it sits easy for they are but beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-may-alcott/wherever-i-am-i-see-the-yoke-on-women-in-some-form-or-another-on-some/) [Abby May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-may-alcott/) > [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The greatest form of maturity is at harvest time. This is when we must learn how to reap without complaint if the amounts are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-greatest-form-of-maturity-is-at-harvest-time-this-is-when-we-must/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [I've had diseases that lasted longer than my marriages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-carter/i-ve-had-diseases-that-lasted-longer-than-my-marriages/) [Nell Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-carter/) > [A prudent pharmacist often vends something for your complaint. But wine merchant you do this invariably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-campion/a-prudent-pharmacist-often-vends-something-for-your-complaint-but/) [Thomas Campion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-campion/) > [“If you believe that the world is conspiring against you, it will just do that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/if-you-believe-that-the-world-is-conspiring-against-you-it-will-just/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Writing as a woman presents enormous problems but I have attempted it several times and haven't had many complaints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/writing-as-a-woman-presents-enormous-problems-but-i-have-attempted-it/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [Sometimes I feel like an old hooker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher/sometimes-i-feel-like-an-old-hooker/) [Cher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher/) > [You could at least complain,” I say. “I adore complaining. It calms the nerves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franny-billingsley/you-could-at-least-complain-i-say-i-adore-complaining-it-calms-the/) [Franny Billingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franny-billingsley/) > [I think that it's extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out, it was an awful lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/i-think-that-it-s-extraordinarily-important-that-we-in-computer/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [I've always been a happy-go-lucky person. I haven't got any dark tales, I didn't draw on my own past, I'm from a very normal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicky-mcclure/i-ve-always-been-a-happy-go-lucky-person-i-haven-t-got-any-dark-tales/) [Vicky McClure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicky-mcclure/) [Browse all 597 Complaints quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complaints/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alphonse Karr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have-thorns-or-rejoice-because-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Complaints" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have-thorns-or-rejoice-because-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/alphonse-karr-16999_complaints_we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have_2440628.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/alphonse-karr-16999_complaints_we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have_2440628.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e0/alphonse-karr-16999_complaints_we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have_2440628.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.” — Alphonse Karr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alphonse Karr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We can complain because rose bushes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have-thorns-or-rejoice-because-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/we-can-complain-because-rose-bushes-have-thorns-or-rejoice-because-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```