For the crackpots in my life

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends ofa pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect andalways delivered a full portion of water.At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the crackedpot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing homeonly 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, andmiserable that it could only do ha lf of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke tothe woman one day by the stream.'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water toleak out all the way back to your house.

'The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on yourside of the path, but not on the other pot's side?''That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I plantedflower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walkback, you water them.

'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers todecorate the table.Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beautyto grace the house.'Each of us has our own unique flaw.

But it's the cracks and flaws weeach have that make our lives together so very interesting andrewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for thegood in them.SO, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember tosmell the flowers on your side of the path!