"Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee"

 A Carrot, an Egg, and a cup of Coffee... You will never look at a cup of Coffee the same, again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about 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 a 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 the rich aroma.  The daughter then asked,`What does this mean, Mother?'

Her mother explained that each one 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 through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.  The Coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the 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 a hardened Heart?

Or am I like the Coffee bean?  The Bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings you pain.  When the water gets hot it releases the fragrance and the 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 the greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do You handle adversity?  Are you a Carrot, an Egg, or a Coffee Bean?

~Unknown

~Beannaichte'

20 January, 2016
 

~May you have enough Happiness to make you Kind and Compassionate~enough Trials to make you Strong~ enough Sorrow to keep you Sensitive to Others~and enough Hope to keep you Happy!