Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Differences

A water bearer in China had
two large pots, each hung on
the ends of a pole which he
carried across his 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
theHouse, 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 house. Of course, the perfect pot was
proud of its accomplishments,
perfect for which it was made.
But the poor cracked pot was
ashamed of it's own
imperfection. And 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 spoke to the water bearer
one day by the stream. "I am
ashamed of myself, and I want
to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half
my load because this crack in
my side causes water to leak
out all the way back to your
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 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. So I planted flower
seeds on your side of the path,
and every day while we walk
back, you've watered 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? Moral: Each of us has our own
unique flaws. We're all cracked
pots. 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.
Blessed are the flexible, for
they shall not be bent out of
shape. Remember to appreciate all the different
people in your life and
recognize them for what they
actually contribute to making
your life better.

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