Are You A Carrot, An Egg, Or A Coffee Bean?
A certain daughter complained to her father about her life and how things have been so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and she wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that just as one problem was solved another arose.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water and placed the fire on high. Soon the three pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the other he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently wondered what he was trying to do. She had problems, and he was making this strange concoction. In half an hour he walked over to the stove and turned down the fire. He pulled the carrots out and placed them in the bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in the bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her he asked. “Darling what do you see?
“Smartly, she replied. “Carrots, eggs, and coffee.
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Her face frowned from the strength of the coffee.
Humbly, she asked. “What does it mean Father?”
He explained. “Each of them faced the same adversity, 212 degrees of boiling water. However each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after going through boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg was fragile. A thin outer shell protected a liquid center. But after sitting through the boiling water, it’s inside became hardened. The coffee beans are unique however. After they were in the boiling water, it became stronger and richer.
Which are you, he asked his daughter? When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with the smallest amount of pain, adversity, or heat you wilt and become soft with no strength.
Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart? A fluid spirit. But after a death, a divorce, an accident you became hardened and stiff. Your shell looks the same, but you are so bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart, internally.
Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean does not get its peak flavor and robust until it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better.
When things are there worst, you get better. When people talk the most, your praises increase. When the hour is the darkest, trials are there greatest, your worship elevates to another level. How do you handle adversity?
Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Taken from Qisas
4 comments
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March 26, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Rabiea
Thank ever so much love it!!!! keep comming.
March 27, 2011 at 8:45 am
Bisma waNi
Superb…
Such an encouraging story…
April 9, 2011 at 12:45 pm
salaam
I do like this story. But I was thinking about it, and felt perhaps it’s being a bit unfair to both the carrot and the egg. Both we judged by their physical state after being placed in the water, whereas the coffee beans were judged differently on the basis of its taste. In fact I quite like the taste of carrot and egg once they have been boiled – the egg certainly tastes much better hard-boiled rather than when it’s raw…
If we compare all the foods on the same premise, i.e. their physical/ chemical state after boiling, then the coffee beans fare worse. At least the carrot and the egg still kept their original form, but the beans in fact melted away!!
And if we compare the foods according to taste, then yes it’s true the coffee beans are stronger and richer – but the egg and the carrot don’t taste too bad either. The egg is soft and nutritious and with a distinct flavour, while the carrot in fact becomes sweeter.
Anyway, it’s a nice story, and of course the message is the most important thing to take away – but perhaps the poor carrot and egg get an unfair deal.
January 16, 2013 at 4:27 am
Diedre
Awesome! What a perfect rloiectefn and such stunning colors, the perfect path across the water! You outdid yourself today, my friend! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!Sylvia