9th August 2024
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 that, 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.
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 & boil, without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out,
pulled the eggs out and
Then she ladled the coffee out and placed all in different bowls.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” the young woman replied.
The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.
She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, she asked her 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 – 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 they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water & made it tastier & full of the wonderful aroma.
“Which are you?” the mother 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, or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a 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 & adds value to it.
Be like the coffee bean, when things are at their worst, get better and change the situation around you.
When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, you elevate yourself to another level & change the value of the very environment which brings you pain & filled it with your fragrance, aroma & flavour.
How do you handle adversity?
Be like the Coffee bean & stay blessed forever.