Not sure I posted this in the right thread, please let me know if you move it.

MAY WE ALL BE COFFEE

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 seemd as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots of water and placed each pot on a high flame. Soon the pots began to boil. In the first pot she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, in the third she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying aword.

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 coffe out and placed it a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she sked, 'Tell me what you see.'

'Corrots, 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 her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hardboiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter 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 carrots 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 outter 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 wer in the boiling water, they had chsnged 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 about this: Which am I?

Am I a carrott that seems to be strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strenght?

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 mu shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like a 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 their way. The highest future will always be based on the 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 that at the end, you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.