Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

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. 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," 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.

"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 flavor.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better
and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and
trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you
handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
**