Carrot, Egg, or Coffee…
A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things had been so hard for her. She didn’t know how she was going to go on. She wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that just as she solved one problem, another arose.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water, put them on the stove and brought them to a boil. In one pot he placed carrots, in the other he placed eggs, and into the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them simmer without saying a word. The daughter sucked her teeth impatiently and wondered what he was trying to do. She had problems and yet he was making this strange concoction! A ½ hour passed. He walked over to the stove and turned it off.
He pulled the carrots out and placed them in a bowl; he pulled the eggs out and placed them in another bowl; then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked, "Darling, what do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Her face frowned from the strength of the coffee.
Humbly, she asked, "What does it mean?"
He explained that each of them faced the same adversity, 100ºC of boiling water, however each reacted differently:
- The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. After going through boiling water, it softened and became weak.
- The egg was fragile, but after sitting through the boiling water its inside became harder.
- The coffee beans were unique. After they sat in the boiling water, they became stronger and richer.
He turned to his daughter and asked, "Which are you?"
Obviously confused, the girl eyed her father. "What do you mean?"
To which he replied, "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"