潘守寶

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. Her mother took her to the kitchen.

Her mother filled three pots with water. In the first， she placed carrots， in the second she placed eggs and 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.

She brought her daughter closer and asked her to feel the carrots. Her daughter did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell， her daughter observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally， she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled， as she tasted its rich aroma.

Each of these objects had faced the same adversity—boiling water—but 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： 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 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 spirit and a 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 hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest， do you elevate to another level？

一個年輕女子找到母親，告訴她有關(guān)自己的生活現(xiàn)狀，并抱怨世事的艱難。母親把她帶到廚房。

母親將三個水壺裝滿水。在第一個壺里，她放進胡蘿卜，第二個壺里放入雞蛋，最后一個壺里放的是磨好的咖啡粉。她一言不發(fā)，將壺放在爐子上煮了起來。大約20分鐘后關(guān)掉爐子。她撈出胡蘿卜放到一個碗里，然后揀出雞蛋放入另一個碗里，最后用勺舀出咖啡又放入一個碗中。

她讓女兒走近一些，讓她摸一下胡蘿卜。女兒照辦，并發(fā)現(xiàn)胡蘿卜變軟了。母親又讓女兒拿起一個雞蛋將其敲碎。剝掉蛋殼后，女兒看到一個煮熟的雞蛋。最后，母親讓女兒呷了一口咖啡。女兒笑了，因為她品嘗到了咖啡的濃香。

這里每樣?xùn)|西都面臨同樣的逆境——沸水的煮熬——然而它們各自的反應(yīng)卻大不相同。胡蘿卜放入水壺時又硬又挺又不易折，然而經(jīng)沸水煮過后變得松軟易彎曲了。雞蛋原本易碎，靠著一層薄薄的蛋殼保護著里面的蛋清。但被水煮過之后，它的里面變硬了。然而與眾不同的卻是磨好的咖啡粉，沸水煮過之后，它把水都改變了。

“你是哪一類呢？”母親問女兒?！爱?dāng)苦難臨門時，你如何應(yīng)對？你是做胡蘿卜、雞蛋還是咖啡豆？”

想想看：我屬于哪一類？

我是貌似堅強的胡蘿卜，經(jīng)過痛苦和逆境之后，變得氣餒、軟弱從而喪失斗志？抑或是雞蛋，開始有一顆柔弱易碎的心，但加熱煮過后有所改變？我是否是內(nèi)心原本可塑的雞蛋，經(jīng)歷死亡、分手、經(jīng)濟危機或其它的磨難之后，變得堅強剛毅了？我是否看上去外表依舊，但我的心靈卻百折不撓，我的內(nèi)心堅毅而剛強？或許我像咖啡豆？事實上，咖啡豆改變了那壺?zé)崴m然熱水給它帶來苦難。水煮熱時，咖啡豆釋放出馥郁芳香。如果你是咖啡豆，當(dāng)處境糟糕透頂時，你會發(fā)揮得更好，并一舉改變頹勢。當(dāng)你身處最黑暗的關(guān)頭，倍受命運折磨之際，你會上升到另一個高度嗎？