Saturday, August 28, 2010

A Little Story Just For You...

Love this - I hope you do too.

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 walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, 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 two 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, 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 water 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.'

Each of us has our own unique flaw. 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.

SO, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

21 comments:

Pondside said...

That was a lovely story and a good reminder. It's so much easier for us to acknowledge or even dwell on our 'cracks' than to recognize ourselves as perfect in many ways.

ginger@bearbits said...

Sweet! And memorable.

~ginger

Laurie said...

Thank-you for sharing this story with us Sharon, what a beautiful reminder that we all have something to offer, regardless of our flaws!

Pearl said...

What a great post, you always make me smile, even if you are cracked :)

It's me said...

Great post Sharon...........lovely sunday greetings........love Ria....

The Rustic Victorian said...

Oh Sharon...I love this story, and your flowers...wonderful, really just what I need to hear.
Love
Marcie

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Sharon! I so often bemoan my faults. This is a wonderful reminder!
Blessings!
Diane

Mosaic Magpie said...

Sharon,
What a wonderful post. Yes, we all have our imperfections and tend to look for imperfections in others. We need a daily reminder of the fact, we are here for a reason and a season. Seek out the good and positive and uplift the things we question.
Debbie

Beth Leintz said...

This reminds me of the Leonard Cohen song- everything has cracks, its how the light gets in.

Thanks for sharing it.

Robin said...

What a lovely story and a good reminder of why we are each unique!

Little Messy Missy said...

Very cute story!!!

Judy S. said...

Thanks for sharing this cute story, Sharon. Are all those photos from your garden?

Marguerite (Tina) Smith Hart said...

What a beautiful story for today Sharon, I am calling my sister right away to read it to her, she has been having a hard time lately and she will love this story!
Have a wonderful day....
Tina xo

Snap said...

One of my favorite stories!!!!!

Love,
Cracked Pot.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Sharon, this is wonderful!!!
Your cracked-pot friend,
Zuzu

Barbara Jean said...

This is wonderful Sharon.

blessings
barbara jean

Terri Kahrs said...

What a wonderful story, Sharon!!! Thank you so much for reminding us that it's OK to be who we really are - cracks and all!!! Hugs, TErri xoxo

Lynn said...

Beautiful and inspiring, thank you so much for sharing this with us :)

Cheryl @ Bingle Bears said...

That's simply BEAUTIFUL!!!

Polly said...

BEAUTIFUL!!! I am definitely a "cracked pot" friend!!

baukje said...

Thanks for sharing this, lovely story and SO TRUE.