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. First 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 break up, 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 flavour. 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.