There is a beautiful Hindu story about the beauty and usefulness of cracks. Throughout our lives, we allow the freshest and most creative parts of our being to pass through them.
The main character of the story is a water bearer from India who carried two large pots hanging from each end of a stick resting on his shoulders. One pot had several cracks, while the other was perfect and could retain all the water he carried from the stream to his master’s house. By the time they reached the destination, the broken pot would only be half full.
Over the years, the two pots arrived at the destination with this uneven result. The perfect pot, aware of its flawlessness, was proud of its achievements, flawlessly serving its purpose, while the cracked pot was ashamed of its cracks as it could only fulfill half of its duty. It was so sad that one day it decided to talk to the water bearer:
“I must apologize to you because, to my shame, due to my cracks…” You can bring just half of my capacity, getting half of the money you would otherwise get.
Full of understanding, the water carrier replied:
– On your way back home, please pay attention to the beautiful flowers that have grown along the path.
Indeed, the pitcher noticed that there were many beautiful flowers along the entire way. Despite that, he was sad because in the end, he was arriving at the destination with only half of the water.
– Have you noticed that the flowers grow only on your side of the road? – the water carrier pointed out to him.
– I have always known that you have cracks and found the positive side of it: I planted flower seeds all along our path, and you, unknowingly, watered them every day. Thanks to that, I now have all these flowers. If you weren’t the way you are, with your cracks, I would still be walking through the desert.