Perhaps you have seen this story circulating before, but I read it for the first time recently and thought it was worth passing along.
Carrots, Eggs, And Coffee
A certain daughter complained to her father about her life and how things have been so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and she wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that just as one problem was solved another arose.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water and placed the fire on high. Soon the three pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the other he placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
The daughter sat impatiently and wondered what he was trying to do. She had problems, and he was making this strange concoction. In half an hour he walked over to the oven and turned down the fire. He pulled the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her he asked. “Darling ,what do you see,”
Smartly, she replied. “Carrots, eggs, and coffee.”
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Her face frowned from the strength of the coffee.
Humbly, she asked. “What does it mean, Father?”
He explained. “Each of them faced the same adversity, 212 degrees of boiling water. However, each reacted differently.”
“The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after going through boiling water, it softened and became weak.”
“The egg was fragile. A thin outer shell protected a liquid center. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.”
“The coffee beans are unique however. After they were in the boiling water, it became stronger and richer.” “Which are you?” he asked his daughter.
When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?
Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Are you like a carrot, normally strong, but after facing pain and adversity, do you wilt, become soft and lose your natural inner strength?
Are you like the egg, starting with a malleable heart, but changed by the heat? Did you have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, your outside shell looks the same, but on the inside are you bitter and tough with a hardened heart?
Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean does not get its peak flavor and robust taste until it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. As the water gets hot, the coffee beans release their 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?
