A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup of
coffee the same way again.
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things
were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted
to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed
each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground
coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out
and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see?'
'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied. Her mother brought her closer and
asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The
mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling
off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the
daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich
aroma.
The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity: boiling water.
Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and
unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened
and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected
its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside
became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were
in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door,
how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and
adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg
that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid
spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial,
have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the
inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart? Or am
I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very
circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases
the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their
worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the
darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another
level?
How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you
strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they
just make the most of everything that comes a long their way. The brightest
future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life
until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
May we all be COFFEE!!!!!!!
Author Unknown.
