| 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? |
I spent most of the day at Helios today, where I:
- caught up my blog
- paid my Amex bill
- followed the developing story about “Paster Ted,” who was a character in the disturbing Jesus Camp I saw a few weeks ago
- tried an item off their new food menu
- and edited nine chapters of Brendan’s help panels.
I left Helios at about 6:15.
I met Joe for dinner at the Panera Bread in the Crossroads area, but it turned out to be the only Panera’s in this area that doesn’t serve Crispanis, for which I had a coupon for a free one.
We ended up eating a couple of doors down at Qdoba. The burritos were fat — not unlike Baja Burritos’ — and yummy.
The ear-piercing fire alarm, which was right above my head on the wall, went off during our meal. The staff didn’t seem to at all take it seriously; they certainly didn’t clear out the customers or make any announcement.
It finally stopped after a minute or two, and five or so minutes later, the fire department arrived. Hot firefighters.
I got to Flex at just after 10, and played three games of pool with Chris (Zinnian) while waiting for Joe to arrive. Once he arrived, I played three more games with him.
Between 12:30 and 1:00, we stumbled over to Legends to catch the First Friday Amateur Contest, and caught the tail end of it, mostly just the voting (by applause) for the winner.