Carrot, Egg or Coffee Bean?

A young woman complained to her mother about how hard things were for her. She was tired of fighting and struggling, and felt like giving up. It seemed as though whenever one problem got solved, another cropped up.
The mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and put them on the stove to boil. Then she placed carrots in the first pot, eggs in the second, and ground coffee beans in the last one and let them boil. After about 20 minutes, the mother fished the carrots and eggs out and placed them in a bowl, and ladled the coffee into another bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she said, “Tell me what you see.”
“Carrots, eggs and coffee.”
She drew the girl closer and asked her to feel the carrots. The daughter did, and noted that they were soft. She was then asked to take an egg and remove the shell. The egg was hard-boiled. Finally the young woman sipped the coffee from the second bowl, smiling as she breathed in its rich aroma.
“What does all this mean, mum?”
Her mother explained that the three items had faced the same adversity – boiling water – but each had reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile but its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. And the boiling water had hardened what was inside. However, the coffee beans were unique – they actually changed the water!
“Which are you?”, her mother asked. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Do you become soft and lose your strength when you encounter pain? Are you like the egg, which has a malleable heart that changes with the heat? Do you become bitter and hard inside after facing hardship?”
“Or are you like the coffee bean, which actually changes the hot water – the very factor that causes the pain. As the water boils, the bean releases its fragrance and flavour. In times of trial and darkness, can you, like the bean, elevate yourself to another level?

(360 words)

(Adapted from Heart & Soul, StarMag Sunday 2/1/2005)