Potatoes, Eggs And Coffee Beans
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?
Author Unknown -- Submitted by Debbie Buttignon
Checkmate (2015)
9 years ago
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4 comments:
last time i read, it's not a ground coffee bean, it's a tea leaves, but the story still didnt get to me..
the psychology thingy..
u see.. for me, the hot water resemblance problems in our life, the potatoes, eggs, n coffee beans are us, humans. when we are subjected to problems, regardless of how big or small they are, its how we react to it that will determine the outcomes of the situation.. as for me, i'm trying to be the coffee bean, become much useful and make the positive outcomes in evry negatives.. :)
for me, to be somebody is to lose somebody, whether the one that we lose worth it or not, is the important matter..
in life, to be coffee bean sound the best options, but later, one realise, to create something new, is to abandone something old.. there is always pro and cons in every decision..
that the reason people say, when somebody accuse or insult someone, actually there try to hid their mistake, they tried to feel better in such way.
psychologist said that there are two type of people, the extrovert and introvert, the one who speak loud bcause they are scared, and the one who speak less but brave and determine inside.
to be potato is worth if it touch the humanity inside you
to be egg is is worth if it differ you from bad people, and u develop endurance against them
to be coffee is not worth when you start something new and repeat the same mistake u had done, as the history book said, people who didnt learn history are condemn to repeat it...
hehe.. i see nothing wrong of being any of the choices gal.. of course every choices hve the pros and cons.. that they say is one of the rule of life which is nothing is perfect..
well, i see nothing wrong if you are creating something new.. we change for the better.. in any aspect that is.. i look at it in different perspective.. its your choice if you want to abondone the old, you do, if you don't want you may as well keep it.. we are the doer kan..
life offers us many oppotunities.. but often we keep on looking at the same door though they are much more doors aside... all the choices in the story applies in different situation of life.. its how we deal it that matter..when it comes to be a potato, no matter how strong we are to face the world, sometimes we still need somebody to be with us.. we need a shoulder to lean on when things get rough..as for the egg, in time of hardship we'll learn how to be strong.. how to be able to stand after we fall and dust off our knee and keep walking again.. this is how i look at it.. :)
neway, in a nutshell, its the way we look at things that made all the differences.. like the song goes..
~always look on the bright side of life.. tut tut tut tut...
thanks for the insight dear..
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