An elderly peasant in China had two large pots, each hung at the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other was perfect. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived half full, while the intact pot delivered its full volume of water. For two years this went on daily; the bearer delivering only one and a half pots of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of achieving its full potential, but the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of abject failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes me to leak all the way back to your house."
The bearer said to the pot, "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 beside your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them."
"For two years I have been able to pick those beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you, just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."
