Fw: A Carrot, an egg & a cup of coffee

[Greg Newell]

This was not quite right for the humor list but I did think some of you 
might get something out if it. Perhaps our newer technicians who are 
struggling for a client base can gain some wisdom from it.

best,
Greg


>This was too good  a life lesson not to pass on! A carrot, an egg and a 
>cup of coffee... 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 a high fire. 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 ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
>
>Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do 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 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 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 death, 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?
>
>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.
>

Greg Newell
Greg's piano Forté
mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net