How do you handle Adversity?

A CUP OF TEA
You will never look at a cup of tea the same way again.

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.
In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground tea leaves. 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 tea out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and tea," she replied.
She 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 tea. The daughter smiled, as she smelled its rich aroma and tasted the wonderful flavor.
The daughter then asked,"What's the point, 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. However, the tea leaves were unique. 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 tea leaf?"

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 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 a hardened heart?

Or am I like the tea leaf? The ground tea leaf 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 tea leaf, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours is the darkest, and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?

How do you handle Adversity?
ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A GROUND TEA LEAF?