[jbug]

Something to think about. It was on another site that I visit. I thought I'd share it with you.

Carrot, Egg and Coffee...
(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?

[Christina86]

Thanks for posting this janniebug.

Gave me something to think about because its so thought-provoking.

[lenjan]

Thank you for posting this, jbug. Very thought provoking. I would like to say I am the coffee beans -- but I have to check that with my T, LOL!

Actually, I'm not sure which one I am. Probably the carrots. My preferred method of dealing with crises is to "wilt" and hide under the covers hoping it goes away by itself.

Candy

[mlyn]

thank you for the post/thaught.

[eskielover]

This is a very good description of life.....for sure.....thank you for sharing.

Going through it, I realize that for the first 40 years of life, I was pretty much the Coffee, I was able to have enough enfluence to change things around me to make things better. It took alot of thought & imagination to have be able to have enough influence.

Then just after 40, I ended up in a position at work where I felt like a wild animal pushed into the corner of my office...every effort I made to change it was squarshed......I knew at that time, I would either end up fighting my way out or the corner or I would just fade away. Then the Northridge earthquake hit & the freeway & valley I had to go through to get to work took 6 hours just 1 way to get to work & the same time to get home. No time to sleep or eat or even live & I hated the job I was stuck with & they wouldn't let me move to the engineering job I would have been good at.

I completely lost it with horrible anxiety attacks to the point I couldn't function at all. Layed at home crying constantly, feeling like I had a complete breakdown......but had to definition of what I was going through. Insurance made me go to a psychologist & then had to go to a pdoc. From that point on, I never was coffee again. I went through suicidal problems for several years, then through horrible migraine pain for even more years....along with anorexia problems. The anorexia was caused by other problems, but ended up in the long run being about the only thing I could control.

I can't decide if I became carrots or eggs.....maybe a combination of both....depending on the circumstance. From the trauma I went through last year, I now have triggers that really set me off which cause actions like the egg....not willing to listen to anyone's excuses......but it seems like with every incident I have a different way of reacting.

Very interesting post & thank you very much,
Debbie

[Sabrina]

I will have to go and think about this. Thanks for posting.