The Carrot, Egg & Coffee beans

[Guest guest]

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how

thingswere 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 youstrong, 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. You might want to send this message to those people who

mean something to you (I JUST DID); 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 friendships you appreciate;

to those who are so meaningful in your life.

 

It's easier to build a child than repair an adult. This is so true --

may we all be COFFEE!!