the leaking pail

Consider this: you have a pail that you've always relied on to carry water in. Its your water pail. You love this water pail. Insofar, this water pail has never failed you. Whenever you need it to store/carry/fetch water it always delivers. It always- uncomplainingly- get the job done.

Then one day, perhaps due to overuse, perhaps due to natural attrition or maybe even to sheer human carelessness and tardiness- or mostly likely a combination of them all- your beloved water pail sustains a crack. Now, its not a particularly large crack and water pretty much trickles out. For all intents and purposes, its still functional and you continue to use and some might say abuse it. You continue to top its load each time, you make more and more trips with the pail. Sure you keep an eye on the little crack in the pail every now and then but you don't pay too much mind to it. After all, your water pail has never failed you. And, as you blindly believe, it never will.

But with the continued stress, pressure and sheer exertion of the pail, what was a tiny crack widens into a hole. But still you continue to use the pail. Sure, water leaks out at 4 cups per minute so you fill the pail with extra 4 cups of water per minute. After all, theoretically, you're putting in what is taken out. And for a while that suffices. Then you realise that transporation gives rise to greater wear and tear and soon your "replacement" is no longer sufficient. So, you cleverly up the replacement. You put in 5 cups more per minute in a bid to stymie the water loss and to have the extra 1 cup for "good measure". To top it off, you paste a huge piece of masking tape to reinforce the weakened cracked area. And for a while, you rest easy, because the pail seems to be coping, at least the water level is holding and it seems to be full most of the time anyway. And you say to yourself you'd finally fix the pail properly... when you have the time.

But there are always more important things, things with deadlines and things that appear to shout so loudly the soft whimperings of your pail gets drowned out. Its not that the pail is unimportant, but it is hardly pressing. Or so you think. Then, time, pressure and the natural attrition that surrounds your precious water pail takes it toll. And before you know it, before you have time to catch it, make proper amends, to give it the attention it actually needs... the pail gives way. So absolutely, so total; its beyond repair. Its damaged beyond saving. Irreparable. Oh, you do your best to glue and fix it back together. You fret and sigh and run through the list of "what ifs".

Nothing changes the fact. Sometimes we lucky and get two, or even three chances to get things right. Mostly, we get only one shot. And then we find ourselves sweeping the pieces up of what's important, staring at the dust of what's precious, having to let go of what's truly imperative... But by then, isn't it already too late?