A Carrot, an egg and a coffee bean.

Minggu lepas, blogger telah ditemui oleh seorang guru yang berada dalam keadaan yang amat stress. Kasihan melihat dan mendengar masalah yang disampaikan tetapi atas dasar empati, kita hanya dapat berkongsi masalah sekadar di luaran sahaja. Mata yang memandang sudah pasti tidak sama dengan bahu yang memikul.

Guru itu menanggung masalah kerana dia tersepit dalam kemelut organisasinya yang tidak pasti ke mana arah tujuan. Dia yang bercita-cita ingin menjadi seorang guru yang boleh 'transform' organisasinya telah terpinggir malahan ramai yang mencemuhnya. Dia rasa begitu kesendirian dalam meneruskan hidupnya di sekolah tersebut. Perasaan serta cemuhan ini menyebabkan dirinya berada dalam tertekan dan impaknya, dia benci akan sekolahnya, rakan-rakannya serta pentadbirnya yang masih berada dalam zon selesa yang menakutkannya serta tidak melihat kecemerlangan dalam mata kaca mata seorang pemimpin.

Argh... bukan senang kami di SPA PPDHS ingin membantu kerana ingin menyelesaikan masalah ini bagaikan menarik selumbar di dalam daging, dibiarkan sakit, ditarik juga sakit, dicungkil juga sakit. Bukan mudah diselesaikan kerana pasti banyak hati yang terluka kalau kami campur tangan dalam hal tersebut.

Tiba-tiba semalam blogger terbaca Buletin IAB, Bilangan 2/2007; mungkin ramai antara kita pernah mendengar dan membaca (terutamanya peserta Kursus ETeMS). Adalah baik kiranya blogger berkongsi dengan guru yang tertekan serta siapa sahaja supaya ini menjadi penampan kepada tergelincirnya sebuah keretapi daripada rel untuk ke stesen seterusnya.



A carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee ...

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 placed carrots, in the the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about 20 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 our 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 wit 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 though with a tiff 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, whwn 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?


Tanyalah pada diri kita sendiri, mana pilihan kita. Semoga guru yang berkongsi masalah dengan blogger atau sesiapa sahaja yang menghadapi masalah dengan organisasi akan memilih salah satu antara tiga... lobak, telur atau pun biji kopi...


[ Dalam ayat Al Quran (dengan izin bagi bagi yang bukan beragama Islam); kita merancang dan Allah juga merancang dan sesungguhnya perancangan Allah itu maha benar lagi maha hebat. ]

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