I went to Penn State

Joe Paterno:

You broke our hearts.

The Broken Pot

A couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of the story of the Broken Pot:

A water bearer in India 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 full of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect 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 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. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you have to do a lot of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts."

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 planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you’ve watered 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.”

Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. --Author unknown

I love this story, it also reminds me that some problems can spring from the way I'm framing things. The pot was so discouraged and devalued its worth because it compared itself to a pot whose intended purpose was wholly different than its own. Of course life has real challenges; but to see that our flaws make us whole, and to notice the flowers along our path is really the whole point. I do believe that our lives shape us in different ways; in ways that make us tailor-made to be of particular service. A life lived 'perfectly' keeps us from realizing our own inherent value.