Wishing You Coffee Beans

A young woman went to her mother and told her about life and how things were 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 the 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 boil without saying a word.

In about 20 minutes, she turned off the burners. She took out the carrots and placed them in a bowl. She took out the eggs and placed them in na bowl. Then she laddled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to the daughter, she asked "Tell me, what do 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 eggs. 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 it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had 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 eggs had been fragile - it's 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?"

Are you the carrot that seems strong but with pain and adversity, wilt and become soft and lose strength?
Are you an egg that starts with a malleable heart but changes with the heat? Did you have a fluid spirit but under a trial become 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 changes the hot water the very circumstance that brings the pain. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

Which one are you?
Michelle Cozins