A young woman went to her mother and
told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.
She said she did not know how she was going to make it, and
felt like she just wanted to give up.
She was tired of fighting and struggling.
It seemed as if when one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother calmly took her into the
kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each
on high heat. Soon the three pots came to a boil.
In the first pot, her mother placed
carrots. In the second she placed eggs. In the last she placed
ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying
a word.
In about 20 minutes, she turned off
the burners. She then fished the carrots out and placed them
in a bowl. She went over to the second pot and pulled the
eggs out and placed them into a bowl. She then ladled the
coffee out of the third and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked,
"Tell me, what do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee,"
her daughter replied.
Her mother brought her over closer
and asked her to feel the cooling carrots. She did, noting
that they were soft.
The mother then asked the daughter
to take a boiled egg and break it. She hit it against the
bowl and peeled off the shell, observing the egg was hard.
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 exact same adversity, which was the
heat from boiling water and each reacted differently.
The mother noted that the carrot went
in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected
to the boiling water, it softened and became so weak it broke
when being picked up.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin
outer shell had protected its liquid-like interior, but after
sitting in the boiling water, its inside became hardened to
the heated water.
The ground coffee beans were unique,
however, she reasoned with her daughter.
After they were in the boiling water,
they had changed the water.
Thanks to Robin
of Illinois