Read it:
An old Chinese woman was carrying water to her house every day. She had two large pots hanging at the ends of a pole that she carried across her neck. One of the pots was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to her house.
The other pot had a crack in it, and by the time it reached its destination, it was only half full. Every day for two years the old lady delivered only one and one-half pots of water to her house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments - perfect to the end for which it was made.
The poor little cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfections and miserable that it could accomplish only half of what it had been designed to do. After two years of what the imperfect pot perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the lady and said, "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the old woman, "What are you ashamed of?"
"Well, for these past two years, I have been able to deliver only half a load of water each day because this crack in my side allows water to leak out all the way back to the house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all this work without getting the full value of your efforts," the pot said.
The old lady felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in her compassion she said, "As we return to the house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot noticed the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because half of its load had leaked out once again.
Then she said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path and not on the other pot's side? That's because I've always known about your flaw and took advantage of it by planting flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day as we walked back from the stream, you watered those seeds, and for two years I have picked these beautiful flowers to decorate my table. Without you being just what you are, I would not have had this beauty to grace my house."
Of course there wasn't the imperfection of the pot that made it special but the special ability of that woman to identify it and utilize its weakness.
Everyone has his "cracks" and his "weaknesses" that may even be helpful to them and enrich their lives. Each "crack" can make our lives richer and more interesting. We can all find the beauty that our imperfection can give and take advantage of it!
"Cracked" friends, remember to pull off the road and enjoy the scent of the flowers that grow in your hand. If everyone turned, like the old woman of our story, the imperfections into something useful and beautiful our world would be better!
Share this meaningful myth with others and help them be better!
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