Author unknown
An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots,
each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her 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 the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on every day,
with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,
and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.
“I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”
The old woman smiled,
“Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path and not on the other side?
“I have known about your flaw but I also recognized your gifts.
I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day as we walked back,
you automatically water them for me.
For two years now, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table for everyone to enjoy.
“Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty, to grace the house.”
Each of us has our own unique flaws.
But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
We have just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.
To all of our crackpot friends from this crackpot, have a great day
and remember to smell the flowers … on our side of the path.