It’s been another strange week with highs and lows. The story below made me think about how I respond to adversity.
BUT first, something thoroughly uplifting. Mia has two beautiful kittens: Tiggy and Biscuit! Eight weeks old and ready for adventure. How much fun will they be having together. Chasing string, climbing up curtains and enjoying crazy moments!
It was funny hats day on our zoom this week. We had sombreros, towels, caps and something utterly ridiculous from our head teacher!!! Well done everyone. We often see you with your pets which is lovely and makes us all smile.
Next zoom is in 2 weeks and it’s quiz week! Send me your favourite hobby (via email) and I will use it to make a quiz. Don’t tell anyone else!
A Carrot, an Egg and a Cup of Coffee
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. It seemed that 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 the fire. Soon the pots came to a 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.
Twenty minutes later, 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 daughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” the daughter 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, “But 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 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 in the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed themselves but the water.
“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how would you like to respond? Will you be a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”
Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a soft heart, but changes with the heat? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside I am tough with a stiff, hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean changed the hot water. When the water became hot, it released its fragrance and flavour.
If you were like the bean, when things are at their worst, you might just find that when the hour is at its darkest and trials are at their greatest, you elevate yourself to another level and inspire and change those around you.
Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything—they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
Keep positive Year 6; we can do this.
x
