A Carrot, an egg, and a cup of Coffee

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.

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.

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