Why I Share My Adventures and Photos with the World

There is an ancient tale about a water bearer who undertakes a simple task of transporting water from a river to his master’s house, bearing two pots, one with a conspicuous flaw.

The flawed pot bemoans its imperfection, its inability to perform as impeccably as its companion. But the water bearer, wise and observant, unveils the beauty concealed within this very imperfection. He points to a trail of vibrant wildflowers flourishing along the path where the cracked pot leaks. On the other side, the perfect pot’s path remains barren.

Here is the story:

“A water bearer in India had two large pots hanging at the ends of a pole that he carried across his neck. One of the pots 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 other pot had a crack in it, and by the time it reached its destination, it was only half full. Every day for two years, the water bearer delivered only one and one-half pots of water to the master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments — perfect to the end for which it was made. The poor little cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfections and miserable that it could accomplish only half of what it had been designed to do. After two years of what the imperfect pot perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer and said, “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”

“Why?” asked the bearer, “What are you ashamed of?”

“Well, for these past two years, I have been able to deliver only half a load of water each day because this crack in my side allows water to leak out all the way back to the master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all this work without getting the full value of 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 noticed the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because half of its load had leaked out once again.

Then the bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path and not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I’ve always known about your flaw and took advantage of it by planting flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day as we walked back from the stream, you watered those seeds, and for two years I have picked these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just what you are, he would not have had this beauty to grace his house.”

Author Unknown

This tale speaks to me on many levels, for in my own life, I’ve unearthed the unspoken beauty of my imperfections as a nature and bird photographer. My work is not a showcase of flawless, unattainable images. It’s a tribute to the untamed, the unfiltered, and the unrefined. I capture both the beauty of the Natural world and parts of life that are disrupted by unexpected flaws.

So, I write about my adventures and share my photographs as a nature and bird photographer because I have an unwavering faith in the power of imperfections and the beauty of nature, and the enchantment that unfurls when we allow life to astonish us.

Just like the cracked pot, my journey is adorned with intricate pathways of wildflowers that have sprung from the imperfections that define my story as a nature and bird photographer.