Carrot, Egg, and Coffee

A young woman went to her mother and told her abouther life and how things were so hard for her. Shedid not know how she was going to make it and wantedto 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 threepots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soonthe pots came to boil. In the first she placedcarrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in thelast she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sitand boil,without saying a word. In about twentyminutes she turned off the burners. She fished thecarrots out and placed them in a bowl.She pulled theeggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladledthe coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to herdaughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see." "Carrots, eggs,and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her tofeel the carrots. She did and noted that they weresoft. The mother then asked the daughter to take anegg and break it. After pulling off the shell, sheobserved the hard boiled egg. Finally, the motherasked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughtersmiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter thenasked, "What does it mean, mother?" Her motherexplained that each of these objects had faced thesame adversity: boiling water.
Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong,hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjectedto the boiling water, it softened and became weak. Theegg had been fragile. Its thin outershell had protected its liquid interior, but aftersitting through the boiling water, its inside becamehardened. The ground coffee beans were unique,however. After they were in the boiling water, theyhad changed the water. "Which are you?" she askedher daughter."When adversity knocks on your door, how do yourespond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seemsstrong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt andbecome soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg thatstarts with a malleable heart, but changes with theheat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, abreak-up, a financial hardship or some other trial,have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell lookthe same, but on the inside am I bitter and toughwith a stiff spirit and hardened heart? Or am I likethe 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 andflavour. If you are like the bean,whenthings are at their worst, you get better and changethe situation around you. When the hour is the darkestand trials are their greatest, do you elevateyourself to another level? How do you handleadversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffeebean? May you have enough happiness to make you sweet,enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow tokeep you human and enough hope to make you happy. Thehappiest of people don't necessarily havethe best of everything; they just make the most ofeverything that comes along their way. Thebrightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you letgo of your past failures and heartaches. When youwere born, you were crying and everyone around you wassmiling.
Live your life so at the end, you're the one whois smiling and everyone around you is crying. Youmight want to send this message tothose people who mean something to you (I JUSTDID); to those who have touched your life in one wayor another; to those who make you smilewhen you really need it; to those who make yousee the brighter side of things when you are reallydown; to those whose friendship you appreciate; tothose who are so meaningful in your life. If you don'tsend it, you will just miss out on theopportunity to brighten someone's day with thismessage! It's easier to build a child than repair anadult. This is so true -May we all be COFFEE.