THE COFFEE BEANS

A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as if as soon as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her father took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high

fire. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes he took the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. Then he poured the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her he asked. "What do you see." "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hardboiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. She humbly asked. "What does it mean Father?" He explained that each of them had faced the same difficulty, boiling water, but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But 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 bean however, had changed the water itself. "Which are you," he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with pain and adversity do you become soft and lose your strength? Are you the egg, which starts off with a soft heart? Were you a fluid spirit, but after a death, a divorce, or a some other difficulty have you become hardened and stiff. Your shell looks the same, but are you bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart? Or are you like the coffee bean?

The bean changes the hot water, the thing that is bringing the pain, when the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and make things better around you. When the hour is the darkest and hardships are at their greatest, does your inner strength elevate you to another level? How do you handle difficult times? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Whatever happens around us may not be under our control, however we can choose our responses and reactions to the situation. The ability to cope with changes is in our hands.