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. 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.
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 do 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 were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her 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—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 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 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 a 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 hours is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another lever?
How do you handle Adversity? Are you a Carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean? I can only answer for me, Martitalinda ... I REFUSE to get mushy like the Carrot ..... I WILL NOT become hardened like the egg ... IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY I WILL BE A COFFEE BEAN AND I WILL CHANGE THE WATER!!!!..
Life has handed me many challenges ... I have had one too many nights when my tears wet my pillow ... but when I open my eyes in the morning ... it is with JOY that I embrace the light of the new day ... because I know that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning!
Whenever my spirit is troubled I read this ... and I make myself remember ... I am like the coffee bean...
My heart is sooooooooo troubled today ... I hope a young girl makes it through a horrible ordeal without physical or emotional scars. I will share the details on my SI group.
My journal entry this day 4-28-2011
On Monday I met my beautiful sista that I met on an obesity support forum at one of their events ... we have become friends since ... as she battles with her MS and other complications brought on by her medical issues she comes all the way from Atlanta to my workplace area for treatments ... as she arrives in the early hours of the morning, we have met 3 times for far for early morning breakfast between 4 and 5 a.m.
This is the collage of our before and what we looked like on Monday ... we are walking this journey eating mindfully and exercising for the rest of our lives....
In our 50s and we are HAWT!!!
This is my favorite picture ... I made this gown last year and in it Al and I and other married couples reaffirmed our love and dedication to one another ... and with an anniversary coming up in the next couple months we plan on doing it again ... and OF COURSE I WILL BE ROCKING A UNIQUE GOWN MADE BY ME WOOT WOOT...
And I made this gown for an event I attended .... I made it from remnant fabric that I had ... and I am giving it away to whoever wants it....
No comments:
Post a Comment