THE LESSON OF THE COFFEE BEAN

THE LESSON OF THE COFFEE BEAN

A daughter complained to her father about how hard things were for her.
“As soon as I solve one problem,” she said, “another one comes up. I’m
tired of struggling.”

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen where he filled three pots
with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil.
In one he placed carrots, in the second, eggs, and in the last, ground
coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After a
while, he went over and turned off the burners. He fished out the
carrots and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed
them a bowl. He poured the coffee into a bowl. Turning to her he asked,
“Darling, what do you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

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. She smiled, as she tasted its
rich flavor.

She asked, “What does it mean, Father?” He explained that each of them
had faced the same adversity — boiling water — but each reacted
differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but after
being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg was fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid
interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside
hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. By being in the boiling
water, they changed the water.

He asked his daughter, “When adversity knocks on your door, which are
you?”

– Author Unknown

savor the coffee

SAVOR THE COFFEE

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, were talking at a
reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.
During their visit the conversation soon turned into complaints about stress
in their work and lives.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned
with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups- porcelain, plastic,
glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite, telling
them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the alumni had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:
“Notice that all of the nice looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving
behind the plain and cheap ones. While it normal for you to want only the
best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be
assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it
is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously
went for the best cups…and then you began eyeing each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; your job, money, and position in
society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life.
The type of cup one has does not define, nor change the quality of Life a
person lives. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy
the coffee God has provided us.”

God makes the coffee, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don’t have
the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Enjoy your coffee!

– Author Unknown

Coffee?

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MountainWings       A MountainWings Moment
#8135          Wings Over The Mountains of Life
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Realistic Coffee Drinker
=========================

How do you know who is a pessimist, who is an optimist and who
is a realist when they are drinking coffee?

The answer?

A pessimist will ask for the milk.

The optimist will ask for the cream.

The realist will say, “Please pass the pitcher.”

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