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   to   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  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  up  a  bit.

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   the   path,   but   not   on   the   other   pot’s   side? That’s  because  I  have  always  known  about  your  flaw,  and  I  put  it  to  good  use.  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.”