Short Inspirational Story: Potatoes, eggs and coffee beans

Short Inspirational Story: Potatoes, eggs and coffee beans

Once upon a time a daughter whined to her father that their life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she is going to survive like this. She was exhausted of fighting and struggling constantly. It appeared that as soon as one predicament resolved, another one quickly followed.

The little girl’s father, a cook, took her to the kitchen. He filled 3 pots with water and put each on a high fire. Once the 3 pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot.

Then he allowed them to boil, whilst saying nothing to his daughter. 

The little girl whined and anxiously waited, speculating what her father was doing.

After about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took out the potatoes from the pot and placed them in a bowl. In the same way he pulled out the eggs and placed them in a bowl as well.

Then  he ladled the coffee out and poured it in a cup. Turning toward his daughter he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she replied quickly.

“Look closer,” he said, “and feel the potatoes.” She touched the potatoes and observed that they were soft. He then requested her to take an egg and break it. After peeling off the shell, she noticed the egg was hard-boiled. Lastly, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma was soothing and she felt relaxed after having a few sips.

“Father, what does this imply?” she inquired.

He then told her that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had all faced similar harsh conditions and misfortune, which is the boiling water.

Yet, each one retorted in a different way.

The potato went in sturdy, hard, and implacable, although in boiling water, it turned out to be soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell shielding its fluid center till the time it was placed in the boiling water. Subsequently the interior of the egg became solid.

On the other hand, the ground coffee beans were only one of its kind. After they were immersed into the boiling water, they altered the water and produced something new.

Now he asked his daughter, “Which one are you my dear,” he asked “When hardships knock on your door, how would you act in response? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean? “

Moral: "It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."

Which one are you? Share in comments

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Quotes on life-attitude

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.” ~ Charles R. Swindoll quotes (American Writer and Clergyman, b.1934)
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”~ Charles R. Swindoll quotes (American Writer and Clergyman, b.1934)
“The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.”~ George Bernard Shaw quotes (Irish literary Critic, Playwright and Essayist. 1925 Nobel Prize for Literature, 1856-1950)
“When you respond to life, that's positive; when you react to life, that's negative.” Zig Ziglar quotes (American motivational Speaker and Author. )