Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip
Robert J. Hastings

InspirEmail

InspirEmail No 51 - January 17, 2005
'Inspirational messages to refresh the spirit and boost the emotional bank account'

'She let them sit and boil, without saying a word'

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 of them on a high heat. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed a bunch of carrots, in the second she placed a handful of eggs, and in the last she placed a large scoopful of 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 do 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, however, 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 in the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique. After they were put into 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 ground coffee beans?'

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 break-up, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I tough with a hardened heart?

Or am I like the ground coffee beans? The ground coffee beans actually changes the hot water and releases the fragrance and flavour.

If you are like the ground coffee bean, when things are at their worst, do 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?

Author Unknown

The Many Faces of Joy!

Joy is contagious; it can spread like a forest fire, whipped by a high, hot wind. Joy can be shared in a crowd or it can be savoured all alone. Joy can bellow or it can fall soft as a kitten's tread. Joy can excite or it can comfort. Joy can be sensuous or it can spring from the intellect. Joy can bewitch. Joy can be sweet or it can be zesty, euphoric, giddy. It can teach, it can heal and it can lay to rest old pain.

InspirEmail

'She let them sit and boil, without saying a word'

The Many Faces of Joy!

- An Inspirational Thought -

'Wise sayings often fall on barren ground; but a kind word is never thrown away' Sir Arthur Helps

'Wise sayings often fall on barren ground; but a kind word is never thrown away'
Sir Arthur Helps