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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 some. 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."
If any know who we may credit this story to,
please drop us a note.
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