Spiritual_Stories

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a
pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it,
and 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 master's house,
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 in his master's house. Of course, the
perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which
it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its 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."

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my
load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the
way back to your master's 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 water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion
he 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 sun warming the beautiful
wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it somewhat.
But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out
half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

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 have 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 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 this beauty to grace his house."

The moral of this story: each of us has our own
unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. In this world, nothing goes to
waste. You may think like the cracked pot that you are
inefficient or useless in certain areas of your life, but somehow these
flaws can turn out to be a blessing in disguise."