Carrot, Eggs 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 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?

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.

May we all be COFFEE!!!!!!