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 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 ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had 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 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. 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.
You might want to send this message to those people who mean
something to you (I JUST DID); to those who have touched your life in
one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need
it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you
are really down; to those whose friendship you appreciate; to those
who are so meaningful in your life.
If you don't send it, you will just miss out on the opportunity to
brighten someone's day with this message!
This is so true - may we all be COFFEE.
Mother's Wisdom 
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