Once upon a time .....
A young woman went to her grandmother 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 grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with
water. In the first, 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 granddaughter, 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 an egg and break it.
After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled, as
she tasted its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked. "What's the
point,grandmother?"
Her grandmother 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. 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 granddaughter.
"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 a 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 hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?
THINK.......
