Recently, when I found myself getting increasingly annoyed at the actions of a friend of mine, I had a thought. One that will perhaps sound a little crazy to anyone who does not know me (okay, probably to them too) but bear with me - it has a great moral to the story. It all starts with the concept of everyone being teapots…
Bright, gold, shiny teapots to be more precise. Teapots that are beautiful and perfect. It doesn’t matter what they are filled with, they don’t change from being perfect. They could be filled with chai tea, black coffee, or soft drink. It could be hot, cold, room temperature, full or nearly empty, but none of that matters because they still remain stunning pieces of kitchenware.
If we applied this concept to humans, we could perhaps see that we are perfect no matter how we choose live our lives. We could let go of our judgement of others and allow them to be, just the way they are. It wouldn’t matter whether they were bitchy, drunks, religious, loud, kind, aggressive or angelic. Those things are just what they have filled their teapot with.
We are all humans, having a human experience on earth. Our job is to experience life as a human. Each choice we make has consequences, but it doesn’t mean we are not perfect if we make ‘bad’ decisions. They types of experiences we have – whether positive or negative - are a result of the choices we make. That is living. Everyone has the right to live the life the way they choose.
You are probably wondering about how criminals and ‘evil’ people can be perfect? If we use the teapot analogy, you could just say that they filled their teapot with poo water. They are still experiencing life as a human on earth but their experience won’t be as positive because the choices they have made will have undesirable consequences. They cannot escape the consequences of their actions whether it be guilt, jail time, loss of friends and family etc. That is literally karma.
Example of a teapot filled with poo water.
Since having the teapot epiphany, I can now look at the annoying actions of my friend with less emotion and attachment. That’s not to say that people will never annoy me again – that is part of being human too. It’s just that when it happens now, I will have a tool to look more objectively at the situation and not get worked up.
Can you see yourself as a teapot? What would you fill it with?