"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. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots
with water. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and
in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them boil for twenty minutes. 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 were
soft and mushy. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling
off the shell, she observed the hardened egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the
coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its deep flavor and inhaled its rich
aroma. The daughter then asked, "What's the point, mother?"
Her mother 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 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 in my leadership? Am I the carrot that seems
strong? But with pain and adversity, do I wilt 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 adversity, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my
shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a hardened
heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water -
the very circumstance that brings the adversity, the pain, the hardship – into
something quite wonderful. When the water gets hot, it releases its fragrance
and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get
better, and change the situation around you for the better." --Author Unknown
Thank you to Clint for the resource!
