Which are you

I am sure many of you have read this before but I loved it.....

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee (we all fall into one of these 
categories)

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again. 

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 high heat. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first 
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 la dled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to 
her 
daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you 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 then asked the daughter to 
take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed 
the 
hardboiled 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 you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? 

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but 
with 
pain and adversity do 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 breakup, a financial 
hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does 
my 
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 bean? 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 hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you 
elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? 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. 

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; 
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The 
brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't 
go 
forward in life until you let go of your past failures and 
heartaches. 

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was 
smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and 
everyone 
around you is crying. 

If you don't send it, you will just miss out on the opp ortunity to 
brighten someone's day!

May we all be COFFEE.