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.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with
water. 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 do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did
and noted that they were soft and mushy. She then asked her to
take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she
observed the hardened egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the
coffee.
The daughter smiled as she tasted its deep flavour and inhaled
its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What's the point,
mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the
same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after
being subjected to the boiling water, it 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 lose my strength? Am I the
egg that starts with a fluid spirit but, after death, a breakup,
a financial hardship or some other trial, 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 adversity, the pain, the
hardship – into something quite wonderful. When the water gets
hot, it releases it's fragrance and flavor. If you are like the
bean, when things are at their worst, you get better, and change
the situation around you for the better.
When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do
you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity?
ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?
Comment what you believe yourself to be