A Carrot, An Egg And A Cup Of Coffee

[InNeedOfAnAngel]

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 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?

[Bdzack]

Thank you for posting this! I love it...it is so true. I am going to concentrate on trying to face the challenges like the bean..."you get better and change the situation around you". I am going to print this and post it on my frig so I can remember. Thanks again so much! Bdzack

[Chai]

Did you write this??

I love the concept! Very uplifting and interesting! I think like Bdzak, I'm going to print this out and post it somewhere. Great story, great moral. Love how it makes me think...I wonder which one I am?...

[InNeedOfAnAngel]

I didn't write it I found it online. I use this tool called Stumble Upon on Firefox and it allows you to choose an assortment of things you like and then you just click a button on your browser tool bar and it pulls up websites it thinks you may like. then you can mark them as a favorite under 'i like it' or mark it as 'i don't like it' and it slowly kind of figures out what you like. i will say it is an addicting thing. but anyways the other day i was stumbling as i normally do when i'm unwilling to concentrate on anything and don't feel like thinking and this popped up and i thought it was just awesome and seemed like something my mom would send me in an email.