Once upon a time a daughter complained
to her father that her life was miserable
and that she didn't know how she was
going to make it.

She was tired of fighting and struggling
all the time. It seemed just as one problem
was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen.
He filled three pots with water and placed
each on a high fire. Once the three pots
began to boil, he placed potatoes in one
pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground
coffee beans in the third pot.

He then let them sit and boil, without saying
a word to his daughter.

The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited,
wondering what he was doing.

After twenty minutes he turned off the
burners. He took the potatoes out of the
pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the
eggs out and placed them a bowl. He then
ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup.

Turning to her he asked. "Daughter, what
do you see?"

"Potatoes, eggs, and coffee," she hastily replied.

"Look closer", he said, "and touch the potatoes."
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.
Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

"Father, what does this mean?" she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the
eggs and coffee beans had each faced the
same adversity - the boiling water. However,
each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting,
but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell
protecting its liquid interior until it was put in
the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg
became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique.
After they were exposed to the boiling water,
they changed the water and created
something new.

"Which are you," he asked his daughter.
"When adversity knocks on your door,
how do you respond? Are you a potato,
an egg, or a coffee bean? "

In life, things happen around us, things
happen to us, but the only thing that truly
matters is what happens within us.

Which one are you?