“Jane complained to her father Harries about her life becoming unbearable. It seemed to her that when one problem was solved, a new one arose. She was totally confused with her life. Harris took her to the kitchen and filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one pot he placed a few carrots, in another a few eggs, and in the third he put some coffee powder. He then let them boil, without saying a word. Jane anxiously waited to see what her Dad was about.
“In about 20 minutes Harris took the carrots from the boiling water and placed them in a plate. He then took the eggs and placed them in another plate. He then emptied the coffee into two mugs, and turning to Jane he asked her, ‘Darling, what do you see?’ ‘Carrots, eggs and coffee,’ she replied. He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She found them soft. He asked her to break an egg. She found the inside of the egg hard. He then offered her a mug of coffee and took the other mug. Both of them began to sip the coffee with its rich aroma.
‘What does this mean, Dad? Jane asked. ‘Darling,’ said Harris, ‘the carrots, eggs and the coffee powder faced the same enemy: boiling water. But whereas the carrots softened and became weak, the fragile eggs protecting the liquid within, hardened. The ground coffee changed the hot water into a drink with a rich aroma. Which are you when you are faced with pain and difficulties?”
Are we like carrots in boiling water: hard, but with pain and adversity, turning soft and losing our strength? Or are we like an egg, which starts off with a malleable heart? Are we fluid, but when caught up with a tragedy, a failure, a breakup, do we turn stiff and hardened? Our shell looks the same, but inside, do we turn bitter and tough, with attitudes that others fail to understand? Or when life’s water gets hottest, do we change the very difficulties and sufferings we face into opportunities for greater achievements in our lives?
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