The Cracked Pot

This story is an excerpt from The Treasure In Your Heart: Yoga & Stories for Peaceful Children (Mystic Yoga Studio, 2008).  This article came from Yoga Journal. I highly recommend you visit their site for great information on expanding your yoga practice and lifestyle.

Sydney Solis informed Yoga Journal she tells this Hindu tale to teach kids to honor and imperfection.

Every day, a farmer carried two pots to the river to fetch water.  Each pot hung on the end of a pole across his shoulders. The pot on his right side was new and perfect. The pot on his left side was older and had a crack in its side.

The new pot brought back all the water the farmer put into it. But the cracked pot leaked out water in a little trail. This went on day after day for two years. The little cracked pot felt terrible. “I am so ashamed of my imperfection!” One day, it spoke to the farmer: “I must apologize. I only deliver half my load because I leak out water all the way back to your house. You should just get rid of me!”

The farmer said, “Do not despair. Look behind you. Do you not see those beautiful flowers along the path? Those are on the left side where I carry you. I knew about your special feature so I planted flower seeds, and you have watered those sees as I walked home. Thanks to you, I have fresh flowers on my table. Thank you, little cracked pot. You are very special.”