I am a coffee drinker. I love the ritual of a good cup of coffee. A friend gave me this little story and I thought I would forward it on to you.
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 faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The
carrots 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 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.
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. It's easier to build a child
than repair an adult.
May we all be COFFEE.
