A CARROT, AN EGG AND COFFEE

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Posted by: " Aseem Kaistha " vkaisthaa2002

Thu Aug 7, 2008 6:16 pm (PDT)

 

A CARROT, AN EGG AND 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 one 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 another bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed

it in a third bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what

you see.†“Carrots, eggs and coffeeâ€, 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?†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?†the mother asked the 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 of these 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 changed the hot water, the

very circumstances that bring the pain. When the water gets hot, it

releases the fragrance and the flavour. 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?