Sunday, August 19, 2007

Carrot, Egg & Coffee Bean

Found this story in a website...very inspirational....

A certain daughter complained to her father about her life and how things have been so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and she wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that just as one problem was solved another arose.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water and placed the fire on high. Soon the three pots came to a boil.
In one he placed carrots, in the other he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently wondered what he was trying to do. She had problems, and he was making this strange concoction. In half an hour he walked over to the stove and turned down the fire. He pulled the carrots out and placed them in the bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in the bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her he asked. “Darling what do you see?
“Smartly, she replied. “Carrots, eggs, and coffee.

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. 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. Her face frowned from the strength of the coffee.






Humbly, she asked. “What does it mean Father?”

He explained. “Each of them faced the same adversity, 212 degrees of boiling water. However each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after going through boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg was fragile. A thin outer shell protected a liquid center. But after sitting through the boiling water, it’s inside became hardened.
The coffee beans are unique however. After they were in the boiling water, it became stronger and richer.

Which are you, he asked his daughter? When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
  • Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with the smallest amount of pain, adversity, or heat you wilt and become soft with no strength.


  • Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart? A fluid spirit. But after a death, a divorce, an accident you became hardened and stiff. Your shell looks the same, but you are so bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart, internally.

  • Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean does not get its peak flavor and robust until it reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better.



When things are there worst, you get better. When people talk the most, your praises increase. When the hour is the darkest, trials are there greatest, your worship elevates to another level.
How do you handle adversity?
Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?


Another simplified version 异曲同工:

Put three pots of water over the fire.
In the first pot, put some carrots.
In the second pot, put some eggs.
In the third pot, put some coffee beans that have been grounded into coffee powder.
Boil all three pots for 15 minutes.
The carrots went in hard. They are now soft.
The eggs went in soft inside Now they are hard inside.
The coffee powder has disappeared.
But the water has the colour and the wonderful smell of coffee.

Now think about life.
Life is not always easy.
Life is not always comfortable.
Sometimes life is very hard.
Things don’t happen like we wish.
People don’t treat us like we hope.
We work very hard but get few results.
What happens when we face difficulties?

Now think about the pots.
The boiling water is like the problems of life.
We can be like the carrots. We go intough and strong. We come out soft and weak. We get very tired. We lose hope. We give up.There is no more fighting spirit.
Don’t be like the carrots!

We can be like the eggs.
We start with a soft and sensitive heart.
We end up very hard and unfeeling inside.
We hate others.
We don’t like ourselves.
We become hard-hearted.
There is no warm feeling, only bitterness.
Don’t be like the eggs!

We can be like the coffee beans.
The water does not change the coffee powder.
The coffee powder changes the water!
The water has become different because of the coffee powder.
See it.
Smell it.
Drink it.
The hotter the water, the better the taste.
We can be like the coffee beans.

We make something good from the difficulties we face.
We learn new things.
We have new knowledge, new skills, new abilities.
We grow in experience.
We make the world around us better.
To succeed, we must try… and try again.
We must believe in what we are doing.
We must not give up.
We must be patient.
We must keep pushing.

Problems and difficulties give us the chance to become stronger… and better… and tougher.

What are we like when things do not go well?
Are we like the carrot…or the egg…or the coffee bean?

Be like the coffee bean!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

小故事 小哲理

【 和尚与屠夫 】
从前有一个和尚跟一个屠夫是好朋友。和尚天天早上要起来念经,而屠夫天天要起来杀猪。 为了不耽误他们早上的工作,是他们约定早上互相叫对方起床。
多年以后,和尚与屠夫相继去世了。屠夫去上天堂了,而和尚却下地狱了。
Why?
因为屠夫天天作善事,叫和尚起来念经,相反地,和尚天天叫屠夫起来杀生……

小哲理:
你做的东西是不是都是你认为对的,却不一定是对的。



【 一道终身受用的测试题 】
你开着一辆车。
在一个暴风雨的晚上。
你经过一个站。
有三个人正在焦急的等公共车 
一个是快要临死的老人,他需要马上去医院。
一个是医生,他曾救过你的命,你做梦都想报答他。
还有一个女人/男人,她/他是你做梦都想嫁/娶的人,也许错过就没有了。
但你的车只能在坐下一个人,你会如何选择?
我不知道这是不是一个对你性格的测试, 因为每一个回答都有他自己的原因。
老人快要死了,你首先应该先救他。
你也想让那个医生上车,因为他救过你,这是个好机会报答他。
还有就是你的梦中情人。错过了这个机会。你可能永远不能遇到一个让
你这么心动的人了。

在200个应征者中,只有一个人被雇佣了,他并没有解释他的理由,他只是说了以下的话:
'给医生车钥匙,让他带着老人去医院,而我则留下来陪我的梦中情人一起等公车!'
每个人我认识的人都认为以上的回答是最好的,但没有一个人(包括我在内)一开始就想到。

小哲理:
是否是因为我们从未想过要放弃我们手中已经拥有的优势(车钥匙)? 有时,如果我们能放弃一些我们的固执,狭隘,和一些优势的话,我们可能会得到更多。


【皮鞋的来历】
很久很久以前,人类都还赤着双脚走路。
有一位国王到某个偏远的乡间旅行,因为路面崎岖不平,有很多碎石头,刺得他的脚又痛又麻。回到王宫后,他下了一道命令,要将国内的所有道路都铺上一层牛皮。他认为这样做,不只是为自己,还可造福他的人民,让大家走路时不再受刺痛之苦。
但即使杀尽国内所有的牛,也筹措不到足够的皮革,而所花费的金钱、动用的人力,更不知凡几。虽然根本做不到,甚至还相当愚蠢,但因为是国王的命令,大家也只能摇头叹息。
一位聪明的仆人大胆向国王提出建言:「国王啊!为什么您要劳师动众,牺牲那么多头牛,花费那么多金钱呢?您何不只用两小片牛皮包住您的脚呢?」国王听了很惊讶,但也当下领悟,于是立刻收回成命,改采这个建议。据说,这就是「皮鞋」的由来。

小哲理:
想改变世界,很难;要改变自己,则较为容易。
与其改变全世界,不如先改变自己--「将自己的双脚包起来」。
改变自己的某些观念和作法,以抵御外来的侵袭。
当自己改变后,眼中的世界自然也就跟着改变了。
如果你希望看到世界改变,那么第一个必须改变的就是自己。

「心若改变,态度就会改变;态度改变,习惯就改变;习惯改变,人生就会改变。」
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