Carrots, Eggs or Coffee!

It’s been more than a month since my last post…. And I feel so deficient without it… Placements took up every amount of time and energy I had… and will continue to do so till I end up with a job!

Firstly, heartiest congratulations to everyone who got a job… and for those who didn't,  don’t worry, I am also in your company (pun unintended) …. We will get soon!

Yes, I didn't get a job in Accenture and Infosys. Perhaps, accepting this as a fact makes it cause a little less pain! Especially after Accenture which had been my lone dream job (Not anymore!). I had been hoping to be a part of it since years in engineering. So not landing in that company, which I was pretty confident about, taking into account my great interview, obviously was a letdown. I am sure all the people who were surprisingly not-in-the-list would agree to my last sentence.

Frankly, I hadn’t made any other plans except Accenture! No other companies as such, no GRE, no MBA, nothing! So perhaps it took me a little more time to accept it. Accept my sort-of failure!

So here I present one story that I went through today… and I hope that it makes you feel nice…

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things are hard for her. She didn’t know how she was going to make it and how she wanted to give up. She was tired of not getting what she desired and struggling through everything.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She took three identical pots, filled them with equal amounts of water and placed each on high fire. Soon the water 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 each of them boil. After twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled out the eggs and placed them in another bowl. She poured the coffee in another bowl. Turning to her daughter, she said, “What do you see?”

“Carrots, eggs and coffee,” replied the daughter.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to touch them. She did and noticed that the carrots had become soft and supple. She took the egg, pulled off the shell, and observed that it had become hard and boiled. She caught the bowl of coffee, viewed its texture, smelled its aroma, and took a sip.

“What does this mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that all the three objects had faced the same adversity; boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to boiling water, it withered and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin exterior shell protected its liquid interior. After taking boiled water, its interior hardened.

However, the coffee beans, totally solid, showed uniqueness. In boiling water, it totally adapted itself and turned liquid.

“What are you, young lady?”

When adversity knocks on the door, when all plans fail, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Think of this: What am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and failure, I wilt and become weak and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that started with a malleable heart and changed with the heat? Did I possess a fluid spirit, but after a failure, death, breakup, hardship or a trial, have I hardened and become stiff? Does my shell look the same, but within, am I bitter and indurate?

Or am I the coffee bean which actually changed the hot water, the very circumstance that caused pain? When boiling, do I get better by releasing fragrance and flavor?

If you are a coffee bean, things can get worse, hours can turn dark, situations can get ugly, but you will only elevate yourself higher!

So, are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Yes, I didn’t get the job (till now)! Yes, my plan didn’t work out! Yes, I couldn’t crack it when I had it damn easy!

But I am going to find my way…. Become much much more than what this failure brought me to…. Because since school I always learnt, “I can…. I will…. I must!”

(P.S. this blog was not intended to exhibit what people perceive as my ego, but to make me realize and remember this lesson forever! Also, it is for every individual going through the same or worse! So, comments welcome…. Sympathies cut it out….)