Once upon a time...there was a water bearer in China who had two
large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his 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
daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots of water to his house.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, 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 2 years of what perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the
water bearer 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 bearer said to the pot, "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. To all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers.