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I'd like to share with you a story - a story which I read quite sometime back and whenever I think about it, it encourages me. This is the story of a conversation between a young woman and her mother.

The young woman was frustrated and disgusted with all the challenges of life. She was sharing with her mother all the difficulties that she was going through. How things were very difficult and the times were very challenging. She explained to her mother that she just wants to give up at times.

The mother quietly listened to the story and as they were discussing, she quietly led the daughter into the kitchen. And as the conversation continued, the mother filled three pots with water and in one she put a carrot, in the second one, she put an egg, and in the third one, she put some ground coffee beans.

As the water was boiling, she sat down at the dining table and the daughter kept wondering - what is my mother doing while I am sharing my story with her? After some time, she turned the burner off, and the mother got the three pots on the table. On a dish, she took out the carrot, in another dish, she took out the egg, and in a third one - in a cup, she poured coffee.

She asked the daughter - what do you see?

The daughter said - egg, carrot and coffee.

And she still kept on thinking, what is her mother trying to do?

And then the mother said - all these three things have gone through similar circumstances. All these three things have gone through the heat of the situation, but each one of them responded differently.

The carrot was hard, but because of the heat of the situation and the circumstances, it softened - it became soft.

The egg was fragile - it had a fragile outer coating and a fluid inside, but because of the heat, it became hard.

Look at the coffee. The coffee beans has changed the water into coffee and has given us a wonderful, refreshing aroma as well.

The mother asked the daughter - What do you want to be? During your difficult circumstances and situations you have an option - woud you like to be like the carrot or the egg or the coffee?

If you behave like the coffee, you will look at a circumstance, and you will change it and transform it in a way that it becomes a blessing to you and for people around you.

You bring that transformation and you bring that wonderful, refreshing aroma, and you will become a blessing to others.

And now I ask you - when you are faced with difficult circumstances, what option would you take? Would you want to be like the carrot, would you want to be like the egg, or would you like to be like the coffee?