Will You Still Be Negative When Seeing Your Flaws From a Different Angle?
Cao Jie
Late at night, two pots, which were put in the corner by their master, started talking.
The perfect pot laughed at the other pot, and said, “We came to the master’s house at the same time. Now I’m still perfect. But look at you, so many cracks in you.”
“It’s not my fault,” the cracked pot refuted. “It’s because the young master broke me carelessly that I have become like this.”
The perfect pot then said, “Anyway, I’m better than you. You see, every time we went out to carry water, I always delivered a full portion at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, but what about you? You arrived only half full.”
The cracked pot was rendered speechless and then burst into tears with grievance. Hearing the cry, the master who had just fallen asleep got up hastily to locate the source, only to find that it came from a pot that he used to carry water. So he bent down and asked, “Why are you crying, little pot?”
“I am ashamed of myself and feeling very miserable,” replied the little pot.
“Why? What are you ashamed of and miserable about?” asked the master.
“For the past two years, every time you use me to carry water, I have been able to deliver only half my load because these cracks in me cause water to leak out all the way back to your house. You have done your utmost but don’t get full value from your efforts because of my flaws,” the little pot replied.
Hearing this, the master laughed loudly. “How can you think so? Do you know in my heart you’re the same as the perfect pot and even more adorable than it?” said the master, pointing with his finger to the perfect pot.
“What? Really?” said the little pot with its eyes popping in surprise. “Why is that?”
The master rose up and fetched a vase of flowers from the table. Then he let the little pot smell them and asked it, “Do they smell sweet?”
“Yes, they do,” the little pot replied cheerfully.
“But without you, they wouldn’t be so sweet,” said the master.
“Me?” The little pot was confused.
“Yeah, didn’t you notice that there were various flowers on both sides of the path from the stream to our house? It was the water you leaked out that made them grow and blossom. For two years I have been able to pick these flowers to decorate my house. It’s all thanks to you,” said the master with a smile.
After hearing these remarks, immediately the little pot’s heart was filled with joy.
From then on, whenever the master carried water, the little pot would observe these flowers and grass along the path, and feel warm with pride: Though I’m not perfect, I’m still useful.
From the Internet
The little pot in the story was despondent because it had cracks in its side and could do nothing for its master. Are we any different in real life? When we see some flaw or weakness in us, we become negative and weak. And as we think that we’re incapable of doing anything, we often give up ourselves, and even lose hope in life or faith in the future. … Actually, whatever God has done is good. For example, compared with the bee, the eagle is powerful, yet the bee can spread pollen and make the nature multicolored. Whatever differences in their life structure and form, all things are good in God’s eyes, and God has a special arrangement and plan for each of them. So never should we despise ourselves. Sometimes, when we see our flaws from a different angle, we can find there is also God’s good will in them. So if we deny ourselves completely, and collapse and abandon ourselves to depravity after a setback, aren’t we troubled about unnecessary fuss?
Almighty God says: “When God saw that all that He had done and achieved was good, everything made by God was set by His words, which is to say that, when ‘God saw that it was good,’ all that He had made assumed a permanent form, was classed according to type, and was given a fixed position, purpose, and function, once and for all eternity. Moreover, their role among all things, and the journey that they must take during God’s management of all things, had already been ordained by God, and were immutable. This was the heavenly law given by the Creator to all things.” Since “God saw that it was good,” why do we live in pessimism and disappointment and bring so much suffering on ourselves? If you look at yourself from a different angle, you might receive unexpected results. For example, perhaps you don’t have the gift of gab like others, but your guileless remarks can make people feel your sincerity; perhaps you’re not so brilliant as others, but you are a down-to-earth person, and you might get more windfalls; perhaps you feel yourself inferior because you’re not good-looking, but when you treat others with all sincerity, your beauty can also be seen…. Therefore, no matter how many unpleasant things, failures and frustrations we experience in our life, don’t be discouraged or disappointed, but instead view ourselves correctly. Only thus can we find the position that suits us and know the direction of our progress in the big world.
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