Carrot, Egg and Coffee

> > >>> >
> > >>> > A carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee... 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 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
> > >>> > do 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.
> > >>> >
> > >>> > The brightest future will always be based on a
> > >>> > forgotten past; you can't
> > >>> > go forward in life until you let go of your past
> > >>> > failures and
> > >>> > heartaches.
> > >>> >
> > >>> > When you were born, you were crying and everyone
> > >>> > around you was
> > >>> > smiling.
> > >>> > Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is
> > >>> > smiling and
> > >>> > everyone
> > >>> > around you is crying.