This is the story of the circle that was missing a piece.

A large triangular wedge had been cut out of it. 
And the circle wanted to be whole, with nothing missing.  
So it went around looking for it's missing piece.  
Since it was incomplete and therefore could roll only slowly, 
it admired the flowers along the way.  
It chatted with worms.  
It enjoyed the sunshine.  
It thought deep thoughts and had profound insights.  
And along the way it found lots of different pieces, 
but none of them fit - so it left them all by the side 
of the road and continued searching.  
Then one day the circle found a piece that fit it perfectly.  
It was so happy! 
Now it could be whole, with nothing missing.  
It fixed the missing piece into itself and began to roll.  
Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast
- too fast to notice the flowers, or talk to the worms, or think deep thoughts.  
When it realized how different the world seemed when it rolled so quickly by, 
it stopped, left its found-piece by the side of the road, and rolled, slowly away.
     

In some strange sense we are more whole when we are missing something. 
The person who has everything is in many ways poor.  
He will never know what it feels like to yearn, to hope, 
to nourish his soul with the dream of something better.  
She will never know the experience of having someone who 
loves her give her something she always wanted and never had.  
There is a wholeness about the person who has to come to 
terms with his own limitations, who has been brave enough to 
let go of his unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so. 
Who knows why the journey is important, and the destination is not. 
There is a wholeness about the man or women who has learned that 
he or she is strong enough to go through a tragedy and survive, 
who can lose someone and still feel like a complete person.  
Who knows that an empty vessel is easier to fill.  
You who have been through the worst know you can come through intact.  

Life is not a trap set for us by the Universe so that it can condemn us for failing.  
Nor is it a spelling bee, where no matter how many words you've gotten right, 
you're disqualified if you make just one mistake.  
Life is more like a baseball season, where even the best team loses 
one-third of the games, and even the worst has its days of brilliance!  
Our goal should be to win more games than we lose.   
And when we accept that imperfection is part of human-being, 
and that we can better appreciate life by a slow roll through it, 
we will achieved a wholeness that others can only aspire to.  
And then, when we are brave enough to love, strong enough to forgive, 
generous enough to rejoice in another's happiness, and wise enough to 
know there is love enough around for us all, we will achieve a 
fulfillment that no other creature ever knows.