A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
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 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 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 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?