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 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 insides 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 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.