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Tuesday 20 December 2011

A Chinese Parable That Teaches Self Acceptance

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her shoulders.  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 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 flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walked back, you watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my 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 each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding."

To love is to look for the good in anything and anyone.  If you look with your heart you will find that each of us is beautifully unique. Imagine what the world would be like if we were all the same...cut from the same cookie cutter?  Dull is what I think.  Our personalities, our experiences, our beliefs and thoughts all form the amazing people we are.  If we could see the beauty in each other, we would see that what truly unites us is our Spirit..our Essence.  The outside may look different.  Our strengths may differ.  But we are all equally worthy and all creators with a right to the space we occupy in this World. 

If you believe differently, I ask you respectfully to examine your beliefs and from where they came.  Perhaps they weren't yours to begin with but passed along by family and/or circumstances.  Then ask yourself, "Is this my truth?"  And then quietly 'feel' the answer come to you for your heart will whisper or roar what your truth really is.  Be surprised, be moved, be questioning.  For you can change your beliefs simply by beginning to observe them.