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A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...Which one are you? |
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Posted by Julia
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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 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 one of these
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?
~
Source Unknown~
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