Carrot, Egg and Coffee

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 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 in 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.

~~~~~~~~*~~~ ~~~~~

You might want to send this message to
those people who mean something to you

(I JUST DID);

to those who have touched your life in
one way or another;

to those who make you smile when you
really need it;

to those who make you see the brighter
side of things when you are really down.
To those whose friendship you appreciate;

to those who are so meaningful in your
life.

If you don't send it, you will just miss
out on the opportunity

to brighten someone's day with this message!

It's easier to build a child than repair
an adult.

This is so true - may we all be COFFEE,
AM break.