“Which of the blessings of your Lord will ye deny?” - Qur’an

Carrots, Eggs, & Coffee!

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of 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?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet,
enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to
keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the
best of everything; they just make the most of
everything that comes along their way.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone
around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who
is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

May we all be COFFEE!!!!!!!