BOILING WATER - CARROTS, EGGS, COFFEE
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life, how things were so hard for her. 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. In the first pot, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and 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. She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft. She then asked her to take the egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to smell and sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she smelled and tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked impatiently, "What's the point, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each had reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened . 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 improved the flavor of the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When trials and adversity knock on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
Were you cold, hard and not sympathetic, so needed boiling water to soften you, and make you easier to be around?
Were you so fragile, that everyone around you had to handle you with extreme care, or risk damaging you? Did you need boiling water so you'd become strong enough to be useful in this world?
The coffee bean was not changed much by the boiling water, but it improved everything it touched (the water).
Life Lessons - Page 14
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