The Carrot, the Egg and the Coffee Beans…

A young woman complained to her mother that 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 if, whenever one problem was solved, a new one arose.  

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and in the last she placed coffee beans. She let them set 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 do you see?” 

“Carrots, eggs and coffee,” she replied. She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She 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 into the pot 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, however, were unique: 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?” 

Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do you wilt and become soft and lose your   strength?

 Or are you the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Do you have a fluid spirit, which after hardship or some other trial gets hardened and stiff? Does your shell look the same, but on the inside, are you bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

 Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very environment 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.

REFLECTION:

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.