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 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?"
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 break-up, 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 a 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.
You might want to send this message to those people
who mean something to you; to those who have touched
your life in one way or another; to those who make you
smile when you really need it; to those who make you see
the brighter side of things when you are really down; to
those whose friendship you appreciate; to those who are
so meaningful in your life.
May we all be COFFEE