An elderly Asian woman had two large pots used to carry water from nearby river, each hung on the end 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
two years, this went on daily with the woman bringing home only one and
a half pots of water. The perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
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:
“I am ashamed of myself because this crack in my side causes water to
leak out all the way 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.”
LESSON LEARNED: Like the pots,
we all have our own unique flaws. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each
have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
SHARED FROM: http://academictips.org/blogs/
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