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The Cracked 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 to 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
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
up a bit. 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 the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I
have always known about your flaw, I put it to good use. 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 the story:
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. 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, nobody is perfect. "We don't aim to be 100% better at 1
thing, but 1% better at 100 things."
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