our Caravan of Re-Joy-Sing pilgrimage celebrating the Feast of the Incarnation, the 12 Days of Christmas and honoring our transcendent journey into light, our taking joy in transforming shadows into gifts and our witnessing these gifts as dreams coming to us each night for the 12 nights of Christmas/the Festival of Illumination continues sauntering across the desert guided by a constellation and our 11th night’s sun of the airy Aquarius sign is as true to form as the previous signs in providing just the right incubator for last night’s initiatory dream with the water bearer…
so, last night, on the eleventh night of Christmas, my true love (Aquarius) gave to me, a dream of… my packing lightly for traveling in the company of a family of supporters and i’m down to one of my favorite peaces – co-ordinating the colors i’ll wear on this flowing odyssey along the rainbow trail which reminds me of an old story, a favorite of mine about the water bearer, gifter of last night’s dream…
THE CRACKED WATER POT
A water bearer in India had two large pots, which hung on each end of a pole that he carried across his neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and one half pots of water to his master’s house. 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 was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After 2 years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.
“I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”
“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”
“I have been able, for these past 2 years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”
Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wildflowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.
The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”
may we all embrace our shadows with radiant warmth melting the ice into sparkling water of life… and, tonight, on this twelfth and final night of our light journey across the desert in search of the divine child, may we awaken to and be warmed by our ever present inner light…
