An elderly Chinese woman
had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole, which she carried across
her neck.
One of the pots had a
crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion
of water.
At the end of the long
walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years
this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of
water.
Of course, the perfect
pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot
was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half
of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what
it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.
'I am ashamed of myself,
because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your
house.'
The old woman smiled,
'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the
other pot's side?'
'That's because I have
always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the
path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.'
For two years I have
been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.
Without you being just
the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'
Each of us has our own
unique flaw, some more than others. But
it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives so very interesting
and rewarding.
