Mirror.

original

"He sat down at his wheel and opened a plastic bag filled with several balls of clay the size of grapefruits. He took the first one out and in a matter of a few moments, created a vase. He took a second ball and created a bowl. A third became a plate, and a fourth, a bottle. The whole exercise took no more than ten minutes and by the time he was finished, I felt I had been hypnotized by his silent art of creation . . .

I believe he was trying to teach me that there is more than one path to happiness. Each of the vessels he made that day started as an unimpressive lump of clay, but all of them were transformed into their own unique vessels, full of beauty and purpose. I recognized that in my efforts to get into dental school, I had been blind to any other option . . . I recognized that I had found happiness in learning to carve wood, in farming, and in fishing. But the happiness I found working as a tailor had easily eclipsed all the happiness I had experienced in my life. In a moment of humility, I saw that my prayers had been answered, just not in the way I believed they would be. I found the happiness I sought, but it required that I forget my single-minded goal and open my eyes to a broader picture. Looking back on it now, I wonder if I ever could have been happy as a dentist. I don't even like to visit the dentist."

--Ben Behunin, Remembering Isaac, 137-139