Have any of you heard a story about a father who taught her daughter life lessons in the kitchen?One morning the daughter kept complaining about life and her father listened in silence. Not long after, he boiled a carrot, egg, and coffee beans in three separate pots. The daughter got curious , and his father shared something valuable. He said the carrot, egg, and coffee beans where all subjected to the same environment; it’s the harsh heat of boiling water. The carrot was hard but softened and weakened in the process, the egg started fragile and came out hard in the inside, and the coffee beans became more aromatic and changed water —it transformed its environment. This story has different versions, but I want to highlight its lessons . This story wasn’t just a simple illustration to me but a metaphor.
There were days that I felt like a carrot — soft , vulnerable , stuck , stagnant, and lost. It seemed life has gone out of me even before it actually happened.
I’ve had chronic headaches, muscle spasms, dry eyes, hyperactivity , and skin allergies coupled with fatigue and more due to 2 craniotomies: in 1997 and in 2005 .Undergoing one is difficult let alone two.
My childhood was a total adventure, has bits of tears and pain straight out of a human drama in TV series, and triumphant seasons. In my teenage years, I would always go to the beach which is just a few meters from us( I shared about it on my previous blog :
@chrisj25/the-horizon-a-poignant-painting-of-the-boundless-skies-on-calm-sunny-day
I would walk for long hours in the morning or in the afternoon during ebb tide with loud thoughts while hearing the quiet blow of the sea breeze , the gentle movement of the sea current as it slowly moves away , and looking at clouds carried by the wind. It even worsened when I reached college. I probably had an undiagnosed depression ; thanks to my loving Mom who loves me the same that the fall didn’t feel . I almost failed my major subjects. I was scared that I may not be able to graduate in four years time, due to financial constraints and health issues.
Other days, I acted like the boiled egg— protective, distant,causing heartaches to people around me due to my insecurities.
All along something in me whispered that my life wasn’t a mistake. It was carved all along and has a master plan . When I thought I was behind in everything, time was miraculously compressed for me.I told myself, “Why shouldn’t I become coffee beans?’’
On a plot twist like that from a drama series, I graduated from college a month after graduation, one of our professors took me to one of his consultancy projects. It only went for three months , but I learned a lot. And the story of trials and triumph continues.
All pictures were edited on Canva.