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AdversityA lot of people perceive these times we currently have as difficult, and many experience or fear adversity. In most instances fear does not become a reality, but still we fear or feel worried. As it is, 95% of all our worries and fears never become reality or are solved long before there is any real need for worry. Having said that, it is not easy to keep your thoughts straight and think of possibilities and at the same time being so bombarded with negative worst-case scenarios. While I was at university and we were heading toward exams we kept telling each other: “These times are sent to try us and we shall probably emerge as nobler souls from the experience.” I think that is something we can tell ourselves today, or whenever there is a situation of actual or imagined adversity. Nature has a fine tuned hand with corrections. Mankind regard it as catastrophes, but from the perspective of Nature it is as it should be, all to bring development forward. Create or disintegrate. We are part of Nature’s equation and the economic turmoil we experience now is probably just a correction, a severe one, yes, but still a correction, and from that will grow something new. These are truly transitional times. I found this story written by a seemingly unknown author. In my opinion it is a great metaphor well worth reading and contemplating about, a good pause for thought. Here's the story: The Carrot, the Egg and the Coffee BeanA young woman went to her mother to tell her about her life and that things were 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 piled up over the other. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots were boiling. 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 said: "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 her daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma and 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: Who are you? 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 breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have you become hardened and stiff? Does your shell look the same, but on the inside you are bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and 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 flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their toughest, 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?Thank you, |
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