Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee Beans!

Came across this wonderful perspective towards life and its problems,

A daughter came to her mother and told her about her life and how things were 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 where she filled three pots with water. She placed carrots in the first, eggs in the second, and ground coffee beans in the third. She let them boil without saying a word. In about 20 minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished out the carrots and placed them in a bowl. She pulled out the eggs and placed them in a second bowl. She laddled the coffee into a third bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the daughter replied."

The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. The daughter did and noted they were soft. Next, she had her daughter take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she had her daughter sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What's the point, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - 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 protecting its liquid interior. After sitting in the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique. After they were in the boiling water, they 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?

Analysis

Am I the carrot, that seems strong but with pain and adversity 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 outer 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 been? 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 hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?

Now it is up to you, how do you handle adversity?

Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?