The COSA Newsletter

CONTENTS
• UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS - Latest news from The Spiritual Awakening Spiritualist Center
• WHAT'S AROUND THE CORNER - Monthly schedule, special events, and more
• FRIENDS OLD AND NEW - Updates, news and announcements
• MEDITATION - Monthly link to a new guided meditation
• VOICES FROM THE PAST AND PRESENT - Spiritualism: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
• SPIRITUALISM AND SPIRITUALISTS - Different insights into Spiritualism's Philosophy and Beliefs
• FOOD FOR THOUGHT - Yet another point of view
• THE FUNNY CORNER - A little corner of the newsletter to make you smile
• AND FINALLY - Newsletter information

thechurchofspiritualawakening@msn.com

A young girl went to her grandmother 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 that, as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a 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 granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the young girl replied. The grandmother 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 granddaughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked, "What does it mean, grandmother?" Her grandmother 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 are you?" the grandmother asked her granddaughter. "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, or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a 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 flavour. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, do you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee Bean.

The happiest 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 that is smiling and everyone around you is smiling. May we all be COFFEE !!!