Mamu

Got this email from one of my officemate. I find it inspiring and want to share it with you.
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A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup
of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother 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 arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen.  She filled three pots with water
and placed each on a high fire.  Soon the pots came to boil.  In the
first 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 pla ced it in
a bowl.  Turning to her daughter, she asked,  "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.  She
did and noted that they were soft.  The mother then asked the daughter
to take an egg and break it.  After pulling off the shell, she observed
the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.  The daughter
smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.  The daughter then asked, "What
does it mean, mother?"

Her mother 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 thro ugh 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 daughter.  "When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

Think of this:  Which am I?  
Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt
and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
heat?  Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a
financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and
stiff?  Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and
tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean?  The bean actually changes the hot water,
the very circumstance that brings the pain.  ; When the water gets hot, it
releases the fragrance and flavor.  If you are like the bean, when
things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation
around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you
elevate yourself to another level?
How do you handle adversity?
Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make
you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you
happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.  The
brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go
forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smili ng and everyone
around you is crying.

Here is another lists of quotations that I keep receiving from my friend Pinky.

I've read this story before but still it touches my heart when I read it again. This was emailed to us by one of our Team Leader at work. Read the story and learn from it.
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My husband is an engineer by profession. I love him for his steady nature
and I love the warm feeling when I lean against his broad shoulders.

3 years of courtship and now 2 years in marriage, I would have to admit
that I'm getting tired of it. The reasons for loving him before have now
transformed into the cause of all my restlessness. I am a sentimental
woman and extremely sensitive when it comes to a relationship and my
feelings. I yearn for the romantic moments like a little girl yearning for
candy.

My husband is my complete opposite. His lack of sensitivity and inability
to bring romantic moments into our marriage has disheartened me about
love.

One day, I finally decided to tell him my decision -- that I wanted a
divorce.

"Why?" he asked, shocked.

"I am tired; there are no reasons for everything in the world!" I answered.

He kept silent the whole night, seeming to be in deep thought, with a
lighted cigarette in his hands at all times. My feeling of disappointment
only increased. Here was a man who couldn't even express his predicament.
What else can I hope from him?

Then finally he asked me, "What can I do to change your mind?"

Somebody said it right; it's hard to change a person's personality and I
guess I started losing faith in him.

Looking deep into his eyes, I slowly answered, "Here is the question. If
you can answer and convince my heart, I will change my mind. Let's say, I
want a flower located on the face of a mountain cliff and we both are sure
that picking that flower will cause your death. Will you do it for me?"

He answered, "I will give you your answer tomorrow..."

My hopes just sank by listening to his response.

I woke up the next morning to find him gone and saw a piece of paper with
his scratchy hand writing, underneath a milk glass, on the dining table
near the front door, that went...

"My dear, I would not pick that flower for you, but please allow me to
explain the reasons further..."

The first line was already breaking my heart but I continued reading.

"When you use the computer, you always mess up the software programs and
you cry in front of the screen. I have to save my fingers so that I can
help to restore the programs."

You always leave the house key behind, thus I have to save my legs to rush
home to open the door for you.

You love traveling but always lose your way in a new city. I have to save
my eyes to show you the way.

You always have the cramps whenever your "good friend" approaches every
month; I have to save my palms so that I can calm the cramps in your
tummy.\

You like to stay indoors and I worry that you will be infected by
infantile autism. I have to save my mouth to tell you jokes and stories to
cure your boredom.

You always stare at the computer and that you will do nothing good for
your eyes. I have to save my eyes so that when we grow old, I can help to
clip your nails and help to remove those annoying white hairs, so I can
hold your hand while strolling down the beach, as you enjoy the sunshine
and the beautiful sand and tell you the color of flowers, just like the
color of the glow on your young face.

Thus my dear, unless I am sure that there is someone who loves you more
than I do, I could not pick that flower yet, and die."

My tears fell on the letter and blurred the ink of his handwriting and
continued reading...

"Now that you finished reading my answer, if you are satisfied, please
open the front door for I am standing outside bringing your favorite bread
and fresh milk."

I rushed to pull open the door and saw his anxious face and his hands
clutching tightly the milk bottle and loaf of bread.

Now I am very sure that no one will ever love me as much as he does and I
have decided to leave the flower alone.

That's life and love. When one is surrounded by love, the feeling of
excitement fades away and one tends to ignore the true love that lies in
between the peace and dullness. Love shows up in all forms, even very
small and cheeky for forms. It has never been a model. Flowers and
romantic moments are only used and appear on the surface of the
relationship. Under all this, the pillar of true love stands and that's
our life.

Love, not words, wins arguments. =)