The Carrot, The Egg and The Coffee Beans by William Tan

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 figuring 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 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, 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.