Of a carrot, an egg and coffee beans.

hf: arthur asked batman : why do we fall sir?
hf: n then batman jawab..
hf: ape??
hf: remember?
ck: noo…
hf: he said i dont know
hf: hahahaha
ck: haihhhhh
hf: n then arthur jawab
hf: so that we could learn to pick ourselves back up
ck: T_T
ck: …
ck: i guess so
hf: to know that uve been facing quite an ujian last semester, or maybe more than that.. it occurs to me that ure doing fine
hf: since obviously Allah loves you my dear

Are you Coffee?

You will never look at a cup of coffee 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 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.

You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you (I JUST DID); to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.

It’s easier to build a child than repair an adult. This is so true.

May we all be COFFEE…

———————-

Many thanx to a dear friend of mine in Auckland for sending me this. I think I talked to you just in time before I started breaking down. After reading what you sent I figured I was an egg because that way I won’t get hurt again. but I guess being coffee beans is a lot cooler. =)

Anyways, I really hope you had a wonderful birthday alongside wonderful friends yesterday. I pray for your success in everything that you do and with each passing day you would become a better Muslimah that you already are. Inniuhibbukifillah.

p/s: Oh, and thank you for cheering me up. That animation was really awesome. =D

The Book of Allah.

The Quranic text is a manual for action, not only by those who witnessed the event but also in every environment and generation. It is a guide for Muslims whenever they face circumstances similar to those faced by the first Muslim community and at any time in the future. It aims to give the same determination and motivation as the Prophet’s Companions possessed.

No one will understand Quranic texts fully unless they face circumstances similar to those faced by the first Muslim community. It is in such circumstances that texts reveal meanings fully and hearts open up to understand them in depth. When this takes place, the text is no longer words and sentences, but rather a source for power and energy. The events described come alive: inspiring, motivating and urging action both in real life and in the depths of the human heart.

The Quran is not merely a book to be read and understood: it is a motivating force. Its texts are ready for implementation at every point. It only needs a heart that warms to it in circumstances that enable its resources to be fully tapped. We may read a particular Quranic text tens or hundreds of times, then we look at it again when we are facing a particular situation only to discover that it gives us what it had not given before. It provides a straight answer to our complex problem, shows a way that we overlooked, clears our doubts and replaces these with firm and perfect reassurance. Nothing else, old or new, gives us what the Quran gives.

Sayyid Qutb, In the Shade of The Quran Volume XIV Surah 33-39, pg 37