Read this encouraging, unique story and 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 soon 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 a boil. In the
first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last
she placed ground coffee. 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. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling
off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked
her 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 -- 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 actually 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?"
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 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 get 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?
Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Home