What shapes you? Old @tribesteemup Biweekly Question 😊

Hello Kind Mindful Steemians!

Apologies in advance @tribesteemup - the deadline for this biweekly question is long gone but I could not help sharing this story. I have heard it before but recently a friend sent to me. And as soon as I read the title of the story the neurons started firing and the dots got connected. Due to time pressure, I could not contribute to the original @tribesteemup Biweekly question - "What makes you into the person you are today? Is it all destiny or do we play a hand in shaping who we are?" - Sorry 😕.

I believe we do not only play a hand in shaping who we are, I believe only we can shape who we are.

Dhammapada - 380
Atta hi attano natho
atta hi attano gati; i.e.
You are your own master,
you make your own future.

The Story: Are you a carrot, egg or coffee bean?(Source)
The Dhammapada verse above is also beautifully explained in this story which propelled me to write this post.

A young lady 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 - one problem after another. Quietly, her mother took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon water started boiling. In the first pot, mother 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 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 it 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 one 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?" (Source)
So, the story really sums it up for me in what shapes us. In Anthony Robin's word:

"What if I was the creator?" beautifully asked
@stortebeker. Indeed, what if? And, aren't we?

"Maybe what made me the person I am today is the person I was yesterday, and on it goes." says @eco-alex on his inspiring post. Could not agree more - present is the product of the past.

And, I am in tune with @porters when she wrote “...knowing that we create our Karma, that certain actions will bring about certain resultants, and adding to it the impermanence of life and the human condition of attachment to this life, I can see that we do have a great deal to do with shaping our lives” in her post.

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