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THE CRACKED WATER POT
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
some. 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."
Moral: 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. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look
for the good in them.
There is a
lot of good out there. There is a lot of good in us!
Blessed are
the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
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 not so interesting...
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