Carrots, Eggs and Coffee: A Parable
There is a parable (by an unknown author) called “Carrots, Eggs and Coffee.” It goes like this…
A young woman went to her grandmother 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 would pop up.
Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire, and soon the pots came to boil. In the first pot she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in 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.
Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied. Her grandmother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The grandmother then asked the granddaughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the grandmother asked the granddaughter to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma then asked,
“What does it mean, grandmother?”
Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. 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 granddaughter.
Cool story, right? Who doesn’t want to be coffee and transform their trial into something new and better? But the point of sharing this parable isn’t so you judge yourself harshly if you are not at your best in adversity.
Truth be told, during a difficult time I am often an egg, sometimes a carrot, and only rarely and through grace have I ever managed to come close to coffee. I think the real point of the story is to be aware of where you are and recognize that even during a trial there is some space for choice – perhaps for gratitude, surrender or self-compassion. So if you can’t get your coffee on, be gentle with yourself; some days the best we can do is to be a carrot or an egg.
The best you can do today will be just fine!
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