Behind the cloud, the sun is still shining.
(Abraham LIncoln)
Today’s clouds may look heavy, tomorrow you may have a good day, but who can tell which cloud contains the rain.
Just by looking at the clouds, we can oftentimes tell what the weather is going to be like. If we see advancing dark clouds, we can expect a heavy downpour on its way. When we see the sun shining, we will not think to carry an umbrella. Even then, the weather can change suddenly. The heavy clouds may be hiding the shining sun or the clouds in a bright shining day may camouflage an oncoming storm. The weather conditions can change in a day or in some places, several times a day.
Likewise, when you are facing challenging circumstances, you really can’t tell if the worst is over or if the challenges have just begun. But how you respond to these challenging circumstances will determine whether you can “weather” the storm or be beaten by them.
There is a popular superstition that says, misfortune comes in threes. Please, don’t even go down that road. Don’t start counting the trials that come your way. If you think it helps you to hang on to hope, please go ahead. But what if after the third, something else comes along. How do you assess whether that trial is part of ‘the three’?
It is better to take it one step at a time. Don’t anticipate unnecessary problems because it will keep you on tenterhooks all the time. Soon you’ll lose whatever joy you have in life. Instead, you should just handle each situation as it turns up. Don’t indulge in your negative thinking, which may become “self-fulfilling prophesy”.
There are usually more than one way to view your situation. Just like the short story below on The Carrot, the Egg and the Coffee Bean. How you respond rather than react to life circumstances, will reveal how resilient you are. It is important what you choose to allow to occupy your thoughts. If you are bursting with anger and frustration, take time to release these toxic emotions. They only harm you and no one else.
The good news, is you can develop resilience. Let the challenges mold you, not break you. Look out for the silver-lining in dark clouds. Don’t let what others say determine your response. Not even their provocations.
Even when you can’t see any hope in your situation, it doesn’t mean there is none or that the struggle you’re going through right now will not end. Often times, when the challenges you’re facing are at their worst, the victory is very near. This is like birth pangs. Just before delivery, the pain is the worst. You can ask any mother who delivered her baby by natural means (without any epidural).
So be patient, clouds are only here for a moment and will soon pass you by. The sun will shine through again. You will overcome, as long as you don’t give up. So let’s enjoy today, for a heavy cloud doesn’t mean it’s going to rain or that the sun is not shining behind it.
Artist & Text: Anna G.
The Carrot, the Egg and the Coffee Bean
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 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 a high 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. In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. Then she pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Finally, 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 young woman replied.
The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked,”What does this mean, mother?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity – boiling water – but 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?” the mother 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 break-up or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same but on the inside – am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstances that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.
If you are like the coffee bean, when things are at their worst, will you get better and change the situation around you? When the hours are darkest and trials are at their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
