Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee
Unknown author
A
young woman went to her grandmother 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 would pop up.
Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with
water and placed each on a high fire, and soon the pots came to 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 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 granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. Her grandmother brought her
closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they
were soft. The grandmother then asked the granddaughter to take an egg
and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled
egg. Finally, the grandmother asked the granddaughter to sip the
coffee. The granddaughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma then
asked,
"What does it mean, grandmother?"
Her grandmother 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.
It’s thin outer shell had protected it’s liquid interior, but after
sitting through the boiling water, it’s 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 granddaughter.
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