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masokissed -> Which one are You? (1/21/2004 10:17:10 AM)
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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
when one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and
placed each one 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, 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 place 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,” the daughter replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.
She did and noted they were soft.
The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After
pulling the shell off, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter
smiled as she tasted its rich flavor. 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. But after being
subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. The 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 the daughter. "When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"
Think of it: What are you?
Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do you wilt
and become soft and lose your strength?
Are you the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
heat? Did you have a fluid spirit, but after a death, breakup, financial
hardship or some other trial, have you 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 actually changes the hot water, the
very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it
releases the fragrance and the 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?
Count your blessings and not your problems.
[image]local://upfiles/12457/Hf976480085.jpg[/image]
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