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 along 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.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around
you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is
smiling and everyone around you is crying.
