Crack Pots
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 only bringing home 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 it could only do half of what it was 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 shamed of myself , because this crack in my side causes water to leak all the way back to your house."
The old woman smiled, "Did you notice there are flowers on your side of the path and not 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 the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."
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 only bringing home 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 it could only do half of what it was 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 shamed of myself , because this crack in my side causes water to leak all the way back to your house."
The old woman smiled, "Did you notice there are flowers on your side of the path and not 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 the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."
2 comments:
That's a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it :)
Julia,
I'm really glad you liked the story. I hope that you can see that no matter our flaws, we are all beautiful people.
Post a Comment