“A young woman
went to her grandmother 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
that as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her grandmother 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 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 then 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 granddaughter, 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 granddaughter then asked, “What does it mean, Grandmother?” Her
grandmother 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 changed the water. ‘Which
are you?’ she asked her granddaughter. ‘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 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 of your life. 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?”
So… Which one are you? Carrot, egg, or coffee?
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