Be the Bean!

 

Every once in a while, I receive an email that I just have to share. Below is just such an email. I think this will be all that I need to share with you today. Have a fantastic one!

Be the Bean

 

I want to share a story with you that was shared with me many years ago as our team was going through a difficult organizational change. The story deals with adversity and change. Enjoy! 

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life, how things were so hard for her, and she wanted to give up.  She was tired of fighting and struggling, as soon as one problem was solved, a new one arose.  Her mother took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water, and placed each on a high fire. When the pots came to a boil, she placed carrots in the first, eggs in the second, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.  Twenty minutes later she turned off the burner, removed the items from the stove and placed each of them in a separate bowl. 

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what  do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. 

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.  She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hardboiled egg. Finally, she asked her 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 - but reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but turned soft and weak. The egg had been fragile but became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, 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? The carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?  The egg that starts with a malleable heart and a fluid spirit, but after a hardship I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?  Or the coffee bean that actually changes the hot water. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of life. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you, elevating yourself to another level. 

How do you handle adversity?  Are you changed by your surroundings, or do you bring life, flavor to them? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?