Flaws or Blessings
We all have flaws and we may think
that due to these, we are ineffective or even hopeless in certain areas of our lives. Nevertheless, they
can turn out to be blessings in disguise.
I would like to share with you a story which suggests
that our flaws are what make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
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 the 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 2 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 break, 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 flowers 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 differences.
While we may refer to these as flaws, from a spiritual point of view, there are no flaws in God's creation.
Each divine idea serves a special and worthwhile purpose, and it's the grateful mind's desire to see that
heavenly purpose and acknowledge its benefits.
So, perhaps we all need to ask the question about
ourselves, and about our neighbour, "Am I seeing flaws or am I seeing the blessing in the differences
we all behold?"
And with a more grateful and appreciative perspective, we may notice a whole row
of beautiful flowers alongside our path we never noticed before!
Frank Ranaldo
Deputy Principal
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