Carrots, Egg & Coffee

Carrots, Eggs & Coffee
Alice Smith

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

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 hardboiled 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?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. Most importantly, know that you cannot change people, but you can change the way you handle adversity...which just might encourage others to strive for change.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one
who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you; to those who have touched your life in one way or an other; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose
friendship you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.

May we all be COFFEE!!!

Own Your Life

"The meaning of life is to give life meaning."

-- Ken Hudgins

When we own our lives, we accept what we have inherited and the experiences we hold in our memories. We also claim our right to create new conditions if we're not happy with what's come before. We assume responsibility for changing what does not suit us. We acknowledge our own special talents and skills, and truly comprehend our right to enjoy the journey. In short, we embrace the meaning and purpose, the mystery and the beauty of our lives.

"I think of life itself now as a wonderful play that I've written for myself... and so my purpose is to have the utmost fun playing my part."

-- Shirley MacLaine

Upper Management Training

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun in one hand and a bucket of
buffalo manure in the other. He says to the waiter, "Me want coffee."

The waiter says, "Sure chief, coming right up." He gets the Indian a
tall mug of coffee, and the Indian drinks it down in one gulp, picks up
the bucket of manure, throws it into the air, blasts it with the
shotgun, then just walks out.

The next morning the Indian returns. He has his shotgun in one hand
and a bucket of buffalo manure in the other. He walks up to the counter
and says to the waiter, "Me want coffee."

The waiter says, "Whoa, Tonto.
We're still cleaning up your mess from the last time you were here.
What the heck was all that about, anyway?"

The Indian smiles and proudly says, "Me training for upper management
position...come in, drink coffee, shoot shit, leave mess for others to
clean up, disappear for rest of day."