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 walk 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 2 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 my house."
Each of us has our own unique flaw. 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.
So, to all of my crackpot friends, thank you for watering
the flowers in my life.
here is a version of the story on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEl4KW1DwP8&feature=related
