Inspirational "Stuff" 002

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried
across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full
portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course , the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do
half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the
stream "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the
way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on
the other pot's side?"

"That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of
the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them."

"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our
lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

This explains why we forward jokes. 
 
A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the 
scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. 
 
He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead 
for years. He wondered where the road was leading them 
 
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of 
the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was 
broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. 
 
When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch 
that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate 
looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he 
got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. 
 
When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?" 
 
"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered. 
 
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked. 
 
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." 
The man gestured, and the gate began to open. 
 
"Can my friend," gesturing toard his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked. 
 
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets." 
 
The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and  
continued the way he had been going with his dog. 
 
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he 
came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had 
never been closed. There was no fence. 
 
As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book. 
 
"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?" 
 
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in." 
 
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog. 
 
"There should be a bowl by the pump." 
 
They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with
a bowl beside t. 
 
The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some
to the dog. 

When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree. 
 
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked 

"This is Heaven," he answered. 

"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too." 
  
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's Hell disguised as Heaven." 
 
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?" 
 
"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind." 
 
Soooo... 
  
Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to us without writing a word. 
 
Maybe this will explain. 
 
When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you do? You forward jokes. 
 
When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact, you forward jokes. 
 
When you have something to sa, but don't know what, and don't know how, you forward jokes. 
 
Also to let you know that you are still remembered, you are still important, 
you are still loved, you are still cared for, guess what you get? 
 
A forwarded joke. 

So, next time if you get a joke, don't think that you've been sent just another
forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today and your friend on the other
end of your computer wanted to send you a smile. 
 
You are all welcome at my water bowl anytime.