THE CRACKED POT
A water bearer in
One of the pots had a crack in it and the other pot was perfect. The perfect one 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 two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots of water to his master's house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection. It was miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it finally said to the water bearer, "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize."
"Why?" asked the water bearer.
"For the past two years, I’ve delivered only half my load because the crack in my side. Because of my flaws, you have to do more work."
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."
As they went up the hill, the old cracked pot saw the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path. But, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load.
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I’ve always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've been watering 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, we would not all have this beauty."
-- Author unknown
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. And our biggest weaknesses can become our biggest strengths.
