A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her – her husband had cheated on her and she was devastated. 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 soon as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her grandmother 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 granddaughter, she asked, ‘Tell me what you see.’
‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.
Her grandmother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The grandmother then asked the granddaughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.
Finally, the grandmother asked the granddaughter to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled as she inhaled its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked, ‘What does it mean, grandmother?’
Her grandmother 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 lost its strength.
The egg had been fragile and its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. After sitting through the boiling water, it looked the same on the outside, but its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they actually changed the hot water, infusing it with their colour and pleasant aroma.
“Which are you?” she asked her granddaughter. “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 when adversity comes?”
Are you the carrot that seems strong in the beginning, but loses strength with pain and adversity?
Are you the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did you face the death of loved one, a breakup, financial hardship or some other trial which has left you looking the same on the outside, but hardened and stiff on the inside?
Or are you like the coffee bean which changes the very circumstance that brings the pain.. Getting better, changing the situation around you and elevating yourself to another level?
How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
