Food for thought!!

> A carrot, an egg, and a coffee bean...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 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?
>
> The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
> they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The
> brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go
> forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
>
> When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
>
> Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone
> around you is crying