Quotations
"One day Joseph Lister was summoned to assist a wealthy lord with a fishbone that had lodged at the back of his throat. After Lister had skillfully removed the obstruction, the grateful patient asked him what he had owed. “My lord,” Lister suggested, “suppose we settle for half of what you would be willing to give me if the bone were still lodged in your throat.”"
"Seeking words of wisdom from a renowned adept, a young acolyte trekked to the top of a mountain. Sitting at the master's feet he asked, "can you tell the future?" the master said, certainly I can. it's easy. Today is just like yesterday. Tomorrow will be just like today. Unless, of course, there's a change of consciousness."
"There is a paradox to freedom that limitation often makes us more free. A painting is made possible by the canvas; a violin string, as an eastern poet once wrote, is not free until it is strung up on a bow, when it is free to make music. As the Israelites leave Egypt, they approach Sinai only to be freighted down with laws, expectations and obligations. They are finally free, and on their way to be wed.
Sinai is a metaphor for marriage. Couples sometimes see marriage as an impediment to freedom, but to be alone is not to be free, it is to be alone. Freedom to love, to be close, to discover another—and to know oneself—is a freedom deeper than those who do not lastingly love can know.
In the garden of Eden, Adam was matched with Havah. Eve's name means "life," and in choosing her, Adam chose life. In standing at Sinai, Israel chose freedom. Under the Chupa, both bride and groom realize that to choose another is to choose life. If that choice is a wise one, it enables us to be free."
"A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his 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 walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. 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 two 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. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts."
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 planted flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day as we walk back, you've watered 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 flaws. We're all cracked pots. It's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them."
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. 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 two 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. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts."
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 planted flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day as we walk back, you've watered 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 flaws. We're all cracked pots. It's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them."
"There are ten strong things in the world, say the rabbis: rock is strong but iron cleaves it; fire melts iron; water extinguishes fire; the clouds bear aloft the water; the wind drives away the clouds; man withstands the wind; fear unmans man; wine dispels fear; sleep overcomes wine; and death sweeps away even sleep. But strongest of all is loving kindness, for it defies and survives death."