On a recent visit to the glorious Victoria & Albert Museum in London, I got lost in wonder amidst an unrivaled collection of ceramics, I stood still, enthralled and connected to an imperfect exhibit called "A Waster." For a peek go to: http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/ceramics-w-is-for-waster/

Wasters are the discarded remains of ceramic objects that became damaged or deformed during firing. In this case, 34 earthenware dishes have collapsed and fused together.

Could we have days when we feel a bit like that waster? Speaking personally, I think yes, it's highly probable we will. How so? Well, looking at those unusable plates, one feels a pang of sadness that they were never able to fulfill the promise of being a beautiful, perfect and whole dining service.

In like mind, we may have days when our health, depression or anxiety renders us incapacitated, unable to fulfil the seemingly endless list of demands, plans, or personal goals. We may feel hopeless and without worth.

Is there a positive bridge to be built here? Let's imagine you are a potter, an artist, with a waster on your hands. Rather than discarding it you find that it has an enchantment of its own with it's own character and story.

So too with us. We may be an imperfect vessel but we can still carry beauty and have gifts to bear. It's the little things that we can do in life that leave their happy mark. A warm smile, a small act of kindness, a genuine compliment or note of encouragement. The possibilities of adding our own personal stamp of beauty on the world around us are infinite. The effect? Incalculable. Priceless.

So should you ever be called a waster or a crack(ed)-pot...maybe take it as a compliment.