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. In the
first pot, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and 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 got soft. She then asked her to take the
egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, she asked her to smell and sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she
smelled and tasted 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 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 trials and adversity knock 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 passive heart, but changes with the heat? Did I
have a fluid spirit, but after a death, 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 become better and change the situation around you.
When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to
another level?
How do you handle adversity?
Like the CARROT, the EGG, OR the COFFEE BEAN?