He was in Malaysia, either for school or trip, and was wandering a market looking for some souvenirs. Finally he found a small lean-to tent, and the man inside was working clay. The pot the vendor was working on was the most beautiful piece he had ever seen. It was perfect, and he had to have it. The clay had to cure so he would have to come back later, but silently he pledged that that piece would be his.
When it had finally finished curing he went back, and right when he came upon the lean-to, the potter had pulled the pot out, the perfect one, and placed it on his work area. Before the friend could speak up to claim it, a hammer appeared in the potter's hand, and with one quick smack, he smashed it.
His heart sank, it was his perfect piece. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and it was destroyed. The vendor quietly pulled out a small bowl of melted gold that he had been making, and piece by piece he put the pot back together, mending its broken edges with pure gold. When he was finished, the pot was even more beautiful than it had been before.
Only by being broken could a greater beauty be pulled out, one that would have been completely missed had the pot remained the way it was when it was created. That's powerful.
Thank you for this. I loved it when I first read it and I keep thinking back to it. Thank you.
ReplyDelete