"A
water bearer in India
had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his
neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect
and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from
the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a
full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a
half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was
proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the
poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was
able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two
years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer
one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to
you.
"Why?"
asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"
"I
have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because
this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your
master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you
don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water
bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said,
"As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful
flowers along the path." Indeed, as
they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the
beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it somewhat.
But at
the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its
load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The
bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on
your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have
always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it.
I planted
flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from
the stream, you've watered them. For two
years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's
table.
Without
you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his
house."
The moral
of this story:
Each of
us has our own unique flaws. We're all
cracked pots but it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives
together so very interesting and rewarding. Take each person for what they are,
and look for the good in them. There is a lot of good out there. In this world, nothing goes to waste. You may think like the cracked pot that you
are inefficient or useless in certain areas of your life, but somehow these
flaws can turn out to be a blessing in disguise."
Remember
to appreciate all the different people in your life! Or as I like to think of
it, if it hadn't been for the crackpots in my life, it would have been pretty
boring and life certainly would have been much less interesting...
Blessed
are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
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