Positive Thoughts

There once lived a water carrier. Every morning, as soon as the sun rose, she walked from her home to collect water in two earthen pots that hung from a long pole that she carried across her shoulders. One pot was perfectly formed, the other, although the same shape and size as its counterpart, had a crack on its side. So, whenever they returned to the water carrier’s house it was only half full every time.

For years, the water carrier repeated her journey to and from her house collecting water from the river. As the years passed by, the pot with the crack created a story in its head about its level of worthiness and inability to properly perform the job for which it had been created. Eventually, the pain and shame that it felt about its own perceived imperfections, became too much for it to bear. The pot confronted the water carrier and said; “I am so sorry. For so many years, I have watched you fill me with water and I can only imagine what a fruitless task it must have been for you. As whenever we return home, I am only half full. This crack on my side has not only caused me hurt and shame, but it must have also prompted you to get rid of me.”

The water carrier listened to these words with both care and compassion. The pot’s story of unworthiness and shame was not one that she recognized. For this was not what she thought of the pot. Gently she turned to the pot and said, “On our way back home, I want you to look around you. I believe you have been looking down upon yourself, comparing yourself to others and not noticing how you have brought untold beauty into my life with the crack that you have.”

The pot was left puzzled but it trusted the water carrier so on their return journey, it looked around. In its former depressed state, it had not noticed that along the path that they travelled there was a dazzling array of beauty, color and life. The water carrier had chosen to make the best use of the crack in the pot by sprinkling seeds along that path. These seeds were duly watered every day and the path that had once been barren and devoid of life was now resplendent with an array of beautiful wild flowers.

This was an eye opener for the pot. It now understood the water carrier’s words and began to see itself in a new light. The pot realized that it had indeed been telling itself a faulty story. If its experience of being a ‘cracked pot’ was going to change then it would have to change the story that it was telling itself.

You are the master of your life. Your outlook towards things defines you and more often than not you attract what you think. Don’t be too hard on yourself, instead feed yourself with positive thoughts. Carry your imperfections with pride, stop comparing yourself with others and focus on being the best version of yourself.

Have a relaxing weekend!