An elderly woman used to leave her village each morning to collect water from a river. In her hands were two buckets. One leaks badly. By the time she walked back to her village the bucket with the crack was always half empty.
This ritual repeated itself day after day, month after month. This being a fable, the bucket with the crack in it had feelings, and its feelings were hurt. It felt inferior to its non-leaky neighbor and was embarrassed by its flaws. It also felt bad for the woman.
One day, while by the stream, the leaky bucket spoke to her. "I am ashamed because this crack in my side leaks water all the way back to your house. I have let you down."
The old woman replied kindly; "By chance, did you fail to notice the long line of flowers growing so beautifully on your side of the path? I planted flowers on that side so that every day on our walk back you would water them."
#
Okay, the story is a little sappy, I admit. Also, the leaky bucket seems a bit clueless, don't you think? I mean, how could it not notice how it's "flaw" was, in fact, a gift?
None of us would ever do such a thing! (Would we?)
No comments:
Post a Comment