How do you handle adversity… Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Here is a sweet story of a girl consoling with her grandmother about a problem she has encountered. The lady asks her granddaughter; “When a problem knocks at your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”…

One young woman went to her grandmother. She explained that her life is so hard for her. In tears this lady told her grandma that her husband had cheated on her and she was really shocked and she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She explained that she wanted to give up on life as she is tired of fighting and struggling. Although it seemed that one problem was solved, a new one was arisen.

The old women heard her story and took her to the kitchen. The grandma filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. She waited until the water started to boil and after that in the first pot she placed carrots, in the second eggs and in the last placed ground coffee beans. The old women let them sit and boil and didn’t said anything.

After 20 minutes she turned off the stove. After that, she took the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. Next she pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. At the end, she poured the coffee in a bowl.

She carefully asked her granddaughter: “Tell me what you see.”

The young woman replied: “Carrots, eggs, and coffee.”

After that the grandmother brought her closer and asked her to touch the carrots and tell her what she felt. The young woman said that they were soft. The grandmother after that asked the granddaughter to take an egg and break it. The young lady did that and saw the hardboiled egg. Finally, the grandma asked the granddaughter to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The young woman with wonder asked her grandmother: ‘What does it mean, grandmother? What’s the point of this?”

This old and wise woman explained that each of these objects had faced the same problem (boiling water) and all of them reacted differently. Namely, the carrot was strong, hard and unrelenting. But then, after only 20 minutes in the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had become fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. Still, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

So, the old woman again asked her granddaughter: “Which are you? When a problem knocks at your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”

You should ask yourself: 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? Or, am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes due to the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after some breakup or financial hardship 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? All of you know that coffee bean changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases nice and pleasant fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

Now, the question is: How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?