SOMETHING FROM THE KITCHEN
A lesson in surviving adversity
Putting your life's trials in perspective is elemental to good caregiving; how you react to stress, to change, the ever-changing environment is so important. With that in mind, read the story of the carrot, the egg and the coffee bean and get a better understanding of yourself.
The Carrot, the Egg and the Coffee Beans
A young woman went to her mother and expressed how hard her life had become and how she did not know how she was going to survive it, how she just wanted to give up. The daughter was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed to her that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
The mother took her daughter to the kitchen, where she filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon, the water in each pot came to a boil. In the first pot she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let all three sit and boil, without saying a word.
In about 20 minutes, the mother turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in another bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a third bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "What do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the daughter replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. The daughter did as she was asked, then noted that the carrots were soft.
The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, the daughter observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich flavor and smelled its alluring aroma. She then asked her mother, "What does it mean?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity—boiling water—yet 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, with only its thin outer shell to protect its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened.
The ground coffee beans, however, were unique. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" the mother asked. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"
Now ask yourself the same question. Which are you? Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity wilts and loses its strength? Are you the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but even though it looks the same on the outside becomes hardened and stiff under pressure?
Or are you like the coffee bean that actually changed the hot water, the very element that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, the coffee 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.
How do you handle adversity? When the hour is darkest and trials are hardest, do you elevate yourself to another level? 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. And remember, the happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes their way.