This was sent to me by the mother of one of my students:
Carrots, Eggs & 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 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?
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.
