Carrot, egg or coffee bean?

Here is a story which puts you to think about what kind of a person you are or have become. As soon as I read this I was sure of my choice. I think I am an egg at this stage of my life and probably moving towards being a coffee bean. Here it is for you:

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 placed 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 through 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 smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Let me know your pick.

On a very different note I have these songs on my mind..:).
-Tumko dekha to yeh khayal aaya zindagi dhoop tum ghana saaya (Saath-saath)
-Aap ki aakhon mein kuch mehke hue se khwaab hai (Ghar)..:D
-Tu bin bataye (Rang de Basanti)
-Chandi jaisa rang hai tera (Pankaj Udhas)
-Naina milaike (Saathiya)
-Gali mein aaj chaand nikla (Zakhm)
-Best of me (Bryan Adams)
-Hungry eyes (Dirty Dancing)

Thats' it for now. Believe me, this list is so long that I can stay awake all night listening to my favorites but I don't have that choice. I have be at work at 8am morning.:(((. Anyway on this romantic note I say good night to all of you and if you want any of those songs please email me I shall send it to you.

Top ten things only women understand.

It may not be a very significant, descriptive and informational blog but I found it very funny. Here is a list of 10 things ONLY women understand and I seriously believe in couple of points being really true.:). Like number 9 and 5...hehehe.

10. Cats' facial expressions.
9. The need for the same style of shoes in different colors.
8. Why bean sprouts aren't just weeds.
7. Fat clothes.
6. Taking a car trip without trying to beat your best time.
5. The difference between beige, ecru, cream, off-white, and eggshell colors.
4. Cutting your hair to make it grow.
3. Eyelash curlers.
2. The inaccuracy of every bathroom scale ever made.

AND, the Number One Number One thing only women understand :

1. OTHER WOMEN

At work!!

After a fair amount of contemplation I decided to put this entry on my blog for everyone. Wasn’t sure, simply because it involved my colleagues, and it might get me in trouble. Anyway, being brave has been fun. My immediate team member is a middle-aged lady, very bright, hard working and a wonderful mentor. She is equally disorganized, believes in piling stuff in layers in no particular order and doesn’t know if concept of filing exists. She has been claiming to come to office on weekends to clean her cubicle area since eternity. On the other hand my project director who is also middle aged man, very charming (supposedly the most handsome guy in our office), dedicated, extremely organized (gives me cut-throat competition on this), climbing up the hierarchy ladder very fast and has a very keen sense of humor. Now he comes once every month to put all the drawings, documents, submittals in order. Now obviously he is very proud of this fact and leaves no opportunity to tease my neighbor colleague that her surrounding is a ghetto. He will use this word in different combinations, its’ a “ghetto,” “ghetto area”, “ghetto world” and likewise. I always give controlled smile on these comments.

But the other day, he comes around and says “ohh it’s a ghetto and the next thing you know there is a RV truck parked in our cubicle.” I think I chuckled out and so did he. When I couldn’t control anymore I had to go out and finish laughing for another ten minutes or so. Now obviously by this sarcastic humor we two had a good laugh but she was flushed with embarrassment. When I got back to my desk I couldn’t look straight into her eyes for like an hour. I gradually gave some wisecracks about the guy who left our team and firm because he didn’t get two/three hour lunch breaks to play football and stuff. Things look fine and friendly between all of us now. She is a good sport.

Vows

I stumbled on this very interesting and an over achiever's blog.He has very generously shared his wedding vows. Each and every vow is deep and made nothing but pure sense. It is very meaningful and just the way relationship should be. With all the credit to him I am sharing this with everyone:

# Do you, A and B, pledge to help each other in developing your hearts and minds, cultivating compassion, generosity, ethics, patience, enthusiasm, concentration and wisdom, as you age and undergo the various ups and downs of life, and to transform them into the path of love, compassion, joy and equanimity? Do you pledge to grow in dharma?

# Do you pledge to support each other's journey, to continually shine light on each other's virtue, and support individual intuitions, even when it doesn't directly benefit yourself? Do you pledge to reinforce and complement each other's virtue?

# Understanding that just as we are a mystery to ourselves, each person is also a mystery to us. Do you pledge to seek to understand yourselves, each other, and all living beings, to examine your own minds continually and to regard all the mysteries of life with openness and joy? Do you pledge to trust the inexplicable ways of the universe?

# Do you pledge to work for the welfare of others, with all of your compassion, wisdom, and skill? Do you pledge to remember the harmfulness of ignorance, anger and clinging attachment, to apply antidotes when these arise in your minds, to recall the kindness of all other beings and your connection to them? Do you pledge to be an instrument of selfless service?

# Recognizing that the external conditions in life will not always be smooth and that internally, your own minds and emotions will sometimes get challenged by negativity, do you pledge to see all these circumstances as opportunities to grow, to open your hearts, to accept yourselves, and each other? Do you pledge to be real, in all situations?

# When it comes time to part, do you pledge to reflect on your time together with thankfulness for the ways in which you have grown, acceptance that all things are temporary and empty of inherent satisfaction, and joy that you met and shared what you have? Do you pledge to cultivate gratitude for the boundless gifts you have received?

# Do you pledge to preserve and enrich your affection for each other, and to share it with all beings? To take the loving feelings you have for one another and your vision of each other's potential and inner beauty as an example, and rather than spiraling inwards and becoming self absorbed, to radiate this love outwards to all beings? Do you pledge to expand your family to include all living beings?

Are we really ever content?

Do we really ever feel content with ourselves? I have felt content and that feeling has lasted for a short span, simply because I immediately saw something which needed my action. The urge has orbited around plethora of activities like learning a musical instrument, dance, community outreach, learn to sing, philosophy, professional growth and a lot more (believe me the list is really long). I guess this feeling of restlessness is the seed behind all our actions. We always hope for something better and sweet on the horizon. The feeling of non-stop seeking and then achieving is what we call being "alive."