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Heart-2-Heart #013
Are You Like a Carrot,
an Egg or a Coffee Bean?
You will never look at a cup of
coffee the same way again...
Friend of the Heart!
My writer friend Clarence Davis, author of Smoker's Saga (see right column), forwarded me an inspiring short story which I like to share with you. Unfortunately I have no idea who the author is who deserves the credits for this sweet metaphore. If you happen to know, do send me his or her name so I can add it!
A Carrot, an Egg or a Coffee Bean?
- Author Unknown
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?
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.
Be a Happy Coffee Bean!
Patricia Ritsema van Eck
www.my-happy-heart.com
P.S.
You might want to send this issue to those people who mean something to
you; to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those
who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see
the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship
you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.
Links for this Issue
Happy Non-Smoker?
Want to change from an unhappy smoker into a Happy non-smoker? It can
be done! Read this book by Clarence Davis:
Smoker's Saga: A Day by Day Log Concerning Smoking Cessation.
In his own words: "This book focuses on exactly what it takes to quit smoking cigarettes. It is written from a Spiritual standpoint. It also is the work of a long-term smoker(some 44 years) who desperately wanted to quit. The actual quitting is easy..."
Poetry Writer
Creating your own software is great; it gets a bit tricky when wanting
to make it more and more beautiful. Which happened to Poetry Writer.
At first it was done within 2 hours. Then I thought I'd add a 'little' feature to help 'bring more sense' into your poems. Plus perhaps a little notepad keeping track of the writing? I ended up doing a speed-course in javascripting... - LOL
Anyway, I lowered my personal expectation level a bit and you can download it soon now. Just give me another day or so. Okay?
Write Sparks
Writing assistant to jump-start your muse! Comes in three versions and
I highly recommend you download the free lite version. Great stuff for
aspiring writers but also a seasoned one will get a lot out of it.
I use it every time when I'm lost for inspiration on them Heart-2-Heart monday mornings...
Updates
Mind & Heart Mapping
I'm almost done writing that special article on Heart Mapping which I promised. So you will most likely be receiving all the insider info in the following issue of Heart-2-Heart. I'm getting a little more careful on putting dates on my projects though...
The help transport from Motherhood containing 18,206 boxes to be distributed in the area of Madras has arrived at destination!
This weekend the first trucks were unloaded in Chennai, close to Madras. Another four will continue South to some more remote villages, including Pondicherry. Once the first trucks are emptied the second transport of boxes will arrive at a nearby airport.
They're keeping a daily journal on their website of how the transport progresses. The journal is kept both in Dutch and in English and it also includes a map of the route.
Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui
My personal guide for getting physical, emotional and spiritual space which I've been very busy with, ever since our family put the Tsunami aid boxes together for Motherhood.
Heart-2-Heart
Thank you for visiting my website. Please visit again some day!
My Happy Heart © 2004 Patricia Ritsema van Eck