Beautiful Life Lesson from the Pantry

A Life lesson from the simple goodness of eggs, carrots, and coffee...

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 soon 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 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 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 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.

This was sent to me by a dear friend.  Thank you Dianne.  Hope New York is treating you well.