Mum watched Anna looking puzzled and worried and asked.
“What’s wrong?”
Shrugging her shoulders, Anna shook her head with a grimace and grunted.
“I am tired of struggling with one exam after another”.
Thoughtful, mum walked to the kitchen. After a while she called Anna in. Anna entered with a sulk and saw 3 carrots, 3 eggs and some beans of coffee on the kitchen table. Mum assured her that this was not about food. She filled three small pots with water, turned on the hot plates on the electric stove and asked Anna to be patient.
In the first pot mum had placed a carrot, in the second an egg and in the third some ground coffee beans. Waiting for them to boil, mum asked Anna what worried her.
“It is hard living up to my expectations and those of others” Anna replied and started complaining about her troubles. Fifteen minutes later mum turned off the stove. The pots had come to a boil. She took out the carrot, the egg and the coffee beans and placed them in a bowl on the table. She then asked Anna to say what she saw.
“Boiled carrots, eggs, and coffee beans,” Anna replied with a smirk.
Mum asked Anna to compare the raw and the boiled carrots. Anna mumbled something about wasting time and added that the boiled carrot was soft, of course!
“So, the carrot, which was initially hard, softened when it was put in hot water. In other words, boiling weakened the carrot” mother concluded, and Anna agreed.
Mum then asked Anna to crack first a raw and then the boiled egg. Not understanding where it was all going, Anna got really annoyed. However, she replied that obviously, the boiled egg was very hard to break. “So, you, see? The hot water caused the egg to harden. The egg was toughened by the environment and the conditions it was in” explained mum.
“I get it”, said Anna, who was beginning to suspect why mum was talking about carrots and eggs. “The carrot is weakened by its environment, but the egg is hardened when boiled. I get it.”
Finally, mum asked Anna to sip the coffee. Anna enjoyed tasting the rich aroma and asked where this was all going.
“I just want you to see that the Coffee Beans, under pressure, transformed the water. They changed the environment which caused them pain. Instead of breaking under hard conditions, the beans changed from within. They released their fragrances and aromas and transformed the color, taste and scent of the water. Anna you too, are under pressure. When things get hard are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”
The mother further explained that the carrot, the egg and the beans faced the same problem, the boiling water. But each reacted differently. The carrot, which was initially strong and hard, softened and weakened when it faced challenges. When the egg, found itself in boiling water, it hardened its fragile, thin outer shell to protect its interior. And the beans transformed with hardship. They found the power hiding inside them and flipped the circumstances and conditions they were in.
“Mum, I get the message”, Anna started, “You are trying to tell me how to respond to my troubles. You are telling me that if I respond like a carrot, I will weaken and become soft and lose my strength even though I start off looking strong. If I behave like an egg, I will harden and most probably close my feelings and lose my desire to love and be loved. But, if I behave like a bean, I will get better when things are at their worst. You are telling me that I can change the situation around me and come out of trouble. Let me think about it”. And with this, Anna walked back to her room.
Talking points
- Why does our environment work like a test for us?
Because it brings challenging conditions. Our responses show who we truly are.
- What does the pot with the boiling water represent?
It stands for life which is often harsh and stressful.
- Do we have a choice for our decisions?
Yes, we are the ones who chose how to respond to our environment.
- What happens to people who behave like a carrot?
They weaken because they think that outside forces are more powerful than them.
- What happens to people who behave like an egg?
They allow the negativity of the world to harden their hearts. Hardships can turn fragile people into mean, tough, angry and negative humans.
- What happens to people who behave like a coffee bean?
They manage to rise from the dark trials and change their environment. Even when things are at their worst, they transform the situation around them to their benefit.
- Can trouble do us good?
Trouble can help us discover the power inside us and transform us.
- What does this story mean to you?
That the way I react decides my fate. That thepower is on the inside of me. Even when things are hard, I can transform from within and create positive change.
