Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

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 if as soon as
one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the
kitchen.The mother 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. About twenty
minutes later, 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 said, "Tell me what 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 felt soft.She then asked her to take an egg and
break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg
inside.Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she
tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "So, 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 softened and became weak.The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer
shell had protected its liquid center. But, after sitting through the boiling
water, its insides had become 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 yourdoor, 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 wiltand 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 financialhardship, or some other trial,
have I become hardened and stiff? Does my outer 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
circumstances that bring the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the
fragrance and flavor of the bean. If you are like the bean, when things are at
their worst, you get better and change the situation around you instead of
letting it change you.When the hours are the darkest and trials are their
greatest do you elevate to another level?How do you handle Adversity?