This is an email that my mother received and I thought that I'd share it with all of you.

A carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee.

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 pot she placed carrots, in the секунда 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 минуты she turns off the burners, fishedthe 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 into a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do Ты 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 than 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 Ты respond? Are Ты a carrot, an egg или a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seemed strong, but with pain and adversity do I become soft and lose my strenght?

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 или some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I горький and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

или am I like the coffee bean? The фасоль, бин actually changes the hot wter, the very circmstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot , it releases the frangrance and flavor. If Ты are like the bean, when things are at their worst, Ты change the situation around you.

When the час is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do Ты elevate yourself to another level? How do Ты handle adversity? Are Ты a carrot, an egg или a coffee bean?



(This Далее bit doesn't really have anything to do with the coffee but I included it anyway)

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

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