A Carrot, An Egg
and a Cup of 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?
A Carrot, An Egg and a Cup of Coffee A young woman went to her
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1 comments
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Dec 7, 2013 9:40am
Cheshire Kitten* · 1 decade ago
I haven't been able to turn my mind off enough to sleep tonight, but reading this put my mind on a different path. I think I can sleep now. Thank you.
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