Lets take a minute to reflect on the
people who mean something to us; those who have touched our life and
inspired us in one way or another; those who make us smile when we
really need it; those who make us see the brighter side of things when
we are really down; those whose friendships we appreciate.
This story inspires me, so I hope it
does for all of you too.
Enjoy!Carrots, Eggs And A Cup Of 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 on a fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she
placed carrots, in the second she placed the 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 finished 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 them 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 her to take an egg
and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled
egg. Finally, the mother asked her daughter to sip the coffee. The
daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The
daughter then asked, “What does all this mean, mother?”
Her
mother 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 being boiled, they had
changed the water.
“Which
one 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?”
So, it’s time to ask yourself. 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 break-up, 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
flavour of the coffee bean. 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 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 are
the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
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