A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened
clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.
They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled
along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.
He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a
beautiful, precious stone!
Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found
thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him.
He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure
into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but
he had just thrown it away!
It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It
doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.
We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have
not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.
There is a treasure in each one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us
that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because
the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.
~Unknown
I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with you.
Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel.
Perhaps you might wish to pass this on to another “Clay Ball”.
Contributed by Sheila Eaton
clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.
They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled
along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.
He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a
beautiful, precious stone!
Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found
thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him.
He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure
into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but
he had just thrown it away!
It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It
doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.
We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have
not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.
There is a treasure in each one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us
that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because
the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.
~Unknown
I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with you.
Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel.
Perhaps you might wish to pass this on to another “Clay Ball”.
Contributed by Sheila Eaton
Soundtrack: Imagine
"If you want to know the past,
to know what has caused you,
look at yourself in the PRESENT,
for that is the past's effect.
If you want to know your future,
then look at yourself in the PRESENT,
for that is the cause of the future."
—Majjhima Nikaya
to know what has caused you,
look at yourself in the PRESENT,
for that is the past's effect.
If you want to know your future,
then look at yourself in the PRESENT,
for that is the cause of the future."
—Majjhima Nikaya
| DawnStar file photo |
| "Circumstance does not make the man. Circumstance reveals man to himself." —Emerson |
Clay Balls
MorningStar for people
To submit comments, requests or materials,
contact me at outreach@dawncoveabbey.org
contact me at outreach@dawncoveabbey.org
For empowerment workshops, seminars and lectures, see: http://www.dawncoveabbey.org/healing-circle
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MorningStar Inspiration from Dawn Cove Abbey
Article, haiku, humour and poem contributions are welcomed, and gratefully received
Layout & Design by DawnStar
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MorningStar Inspiration from Dawn Cove Abbey
Article, haiku, humour and poem contributions are welcomed, and gratefully received
Layout & Design by DawnStar
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