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 walk from the stream to her 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 a bitter failure it spoke to the woman one day down by the stream.  “I am ashamed of myself because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to the house”. 

The old woman smiled:”Did you ever notice that there are flowers on your side of the path but not on the other pots’ side?  That is because I have always known your flaw, so I planted seeds on your side of the path and every day while we walk back you water them.  Without you being the way you are, there would not be this beautiful lining of flowers next to this road.

Each of us have our own unique flaw.  But its the cracks and flaws in each other which makes our lives so very interesting and rewarding.  You’ve just got to take each person for what they  are and look for the good in them…

Riani