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.