A
young man went to a monk complaining about his life and how things were so hard.
He did not know how he was going to make it and wanted to give up. He was tired
of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one
arose.
.
The monk took him to a kitchen and filled three pots with water. In the first,
he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs and the last he placed ground
coffee beans. He let them sit and boil without saying a word
.
He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and
placed them in a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to the man, he asked, “Tell me, what do you see?” “Carrots, eggs, and
coffee,” the man replied.
.
He brought him closer and asked him to feel the carrots. He did and noted that
they were soft. He then asked him to take an egg and break it. After pulling
off the shell, he observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked him to sip
the coffee. The man smiled, as he tasted its rich aroma. The man then asked.
“What's the point?”
.
The monk explained “each of these objects has faced the same adversity
--boiling water -- but 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?” the monk asked . “When adversity knocks on your door, how do
you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
.
Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do you wilt
and become soft and lose your strength?
.
Are you the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?
Did you have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a break-up, a financial
hardship or some other trial, have you become hardened and stiff? Does your shell
look the same, but on the inside are you bitter and tough with a stiff spirit
and a hardened heart?
.
Or are you 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 flavour. If you are like the bean, when things are at their
worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
.
When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another
level? Which are you?
