Saturday, May 6, 2006

CHAPTER 5, PAGE 6

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn't know how she was going to make it.

She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter.

The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup.

Turning to her he asked. "Daughter, what do you see?" "Potatoes, eggs, and coffee," she hastily replied. "Look closer", he said, "and touch the potatoes."

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. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face. "Father, what does this mean?" she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity -- the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

"Which are you," he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

Which one are you?

GOOD MORNING !

I guess you all know by now that I love my morning coffee ! Saturday mornings in particular. I get to sip and enjoy with out any rush.

Answer to the question above is – A coffee bean – of course.

Thought for today

The highest happiness of man as a thinking being is ... to have proved what is knowable and quietly to revere what is unknowable

Goethe

I hope your day is blessed with a few smiles and lots of sunshine to warm your heart !

MA

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is just wonderful.  I am going to do my best to always be the coffee, this really touched me. Thank you.  Happy weekend.
http://journals.aol.co.uk/jeanno43/JeannettesJottings/

Anonymous said...

I am so multie personality that I am one at times and another at other times. It just all depends on the situation

Anonymous said...

Some days lately I'm the potato.... I will try to be the coffee bean today .... thanks
Sandra

Anonymous said...

I would like to think I would be coffee, but the truth is I am more likely to be ---- potato salad. Some of each, but if you mix them up together you get something new and yummy. However, nothing can beat a good cup of coffee. Something good to think about though. Enjoy your weekend.

Anonymous said...

well I just love it, I hope I'm a coffee bean, even though I don't touch the stuff. I really enjoyed the lesson. I hope your weekend is going great and you enjoyed the coffee.