Carrot, Egg or Coffee ....‎

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and howthingswere so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it andwanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemedasone problem was solved, a new one arose.Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water andplaced each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first sheplaced carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last sheplacedground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil,without saying a word.In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished thecarrotsout and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed themin abowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning toher 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 didand noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter totakean egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed thehard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip thecoffee.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 sameadversity - boiling water. Each reacted differently.The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after beingsubjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquidinterior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside becamehardened.The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in theboiling water, they had changed the water."Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on yourdoor, 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 withpainand adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with theheat?Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financialhardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does myshell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with astiffspirit and hardened heart?Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water,thevery circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, Itreleases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when thingsare at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do youelevateyourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you acarrot,an egg or a coffee bean?May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to makeyoustrong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make youhappy.The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;Theyjust make the most of everything that comes along their way. Thebrightestfuture will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward inlife 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 everyonearound you is crying.It's easier to build a child than repairan adult.May we all be COFFEE!