Taoism

A friend of mine, who is now dead, was a great source of expansion and nurture as far as my own spiritual development was concerned. He was the only person who seemed successful at getting me to understand Taoism and its gentle acceptance of the world and its rhythms.

Another friend sent me the story below. I received it today. I think it is a lovely story that illustrates this sense of understanding that life, God, the Universe, (or whatever various belief systems like to call it) gives us each gifts. Life is the first gift. What we come to understand as other gifts or challenges (or faults) are only values that we, as humans, put to our individual characteristics. Perhaps we need to see our "cracks" more as the gifts they truly are.

The Cracked Pot

An elderly 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 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 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 was 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
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 have
that make our
lives together
so very interesting and rewarding.

Take each person for whom they are. Find the good in them.