The Story of the Cracked Pot

A story I heard last week....

A water bearer had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. 

One of the pots was nice and perfect, but the other had a crack in it. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the perfect pot delivered a full pot of water, while the cracked pot always arrived only half full.

 

For two years this went on daily, with the water bearer delivering one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. 

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, fulfilled in the design for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was unable to accomplish what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, the cracked pot spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream, “I am ashamed of myself and I apologize to you.”

“Why, what are you ashamed of ? ” the water bearer asked the sad cracked pot.

“I feel sorry that for these past two years I have been able to deliver only half my load because of this crack in my side. And because of my flaw, you have to do extra work and you don't get full value from your efforts,” the pot said full of remorse.

The water bearer said, “As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and was kind of consoled.

But at the end of the trail, the cracked pot, still felt remorse, shame and a feeling of guilt, again apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the cracked pot, “Did you not notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, and not on the other pot's side…? That is because I have always known about your flaw and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we've walked back from the stream, you've watered 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, he would not have these lovely flowers to grace his house.”

Sweet and meaningful, huh?

And it's proper moral story...so here's the moral as well - We are all cracked pots, each with our own unique flaws; there are no winners and there are no losers...focus on what you can do,to your fullest potential.... not on what others do.