Hope

OOLONG TEA...

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of Oolong tea. You will never look at a cup of Oolong 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 Oolong tea. 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 Oolong out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and Oolong tea," 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 Oolong. 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 Oolong tea was unique, however. After they were in the boiling water , they had changed the water color and taste.

"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 Oolong tea?

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 Oolong tea? The tea 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, 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 Oolong tea? 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. But you can't learn without looking back on your mistakes and not making them again.

That was an email i just got. and i thought it was a good starting point for my usual hidious points of view, which i like human beings do, think are important and right.

Ok childern, today's discussion will be on: hope. What IS hope? Well in my wierd,thinking-about-all-kinds-of-useless-stuff mind, hope is something that you cannot see, cannot taste, cannot touch. You just feel it. That feeling you get that mabye, there's a tiny chance that your life could go back on track. It might come from someone, something. words, memories, rhythm of a song. But the truth is, hope is the thing that gives us the nudge to go out and fight again. Its the insane belief that no matter how shit life gets, we can overcome it, and fight for a better tomorrow.

The online dictionary defines hope as thus: Hope is a desire for something to happen, while expecting or being confident that it will come true. Hope also implies a certain amount of perseverence, believing that something is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary. Hope may be directed toward something minor or towards something extremely significant. "False hope" is hoping for something that is extremely unlikely or unrealisic. [link]

my friends, its that feeling that makes us do incredable things. start/end wars, become leader of the world, become amazing rock stars. this can be true for anyone.

and that little beam of hope, is the only nudge you need.