My favourite story, personality and dream.

A young woman came back home angry one day. Her father, who was at home that time, recognised her anger but instead of saying something nice to her, or even asking her what happened, took her straight to the kitchen.

He took 3 pots, filled them with water and put them on the stove. As the girl's remained high with no sign of improvement, he put an egg into the first pot, a potato in the second, and some tea in the third. He closed the pots with lids, let them boil, asked his angry daughter to observe, and he left the kitchen.

The daughter, obviously lacking the balance required to sail through the clouds of anger that were obstructing her from clearly processing her thoughts, as well as from perceiving what was being demonstrated in front of her, simply continued to rant, in a murmuring way.

Twenty minutes later, her father returned and asked if she observed anything. She replied angrily asking him not to make her bad day, worse.

The father then explained, saying how what's going on in these three pots summarizes how people react to situations.

The potato, initially hard on the outside and inside, became very soft. The egg, initially protected by the shell, lost the shell, but became solid and no longer required that shell to retain it's structure and integrity. In other words, it became solid by itself.

The tea was different. Whereas the other two underwent some changes due to the situation they faced, the tea used the situation and created something refreshing for anyone who consumed it.

How often do we see people undergo stress- due to work, financial situations, etc. The COVID pandemic is by far the most relatable for many of us- we all faced some form of stress. For some of us it meant not being able to go to the places we loved, for others it meant losing jobs and livelihoods, friends and loved ones, and for some, more important than anything else, it meant losing hope.

In such testing times, one has as much a great chance of succumbing to the stress and losing all interest in living, as much as the possibility of testing one's capability to handle stress. The possibility of emerging stronger. The possibility of making peace with all that's beyond one's control, and simply using one's talents and skills to make the best out of the situation- like the tea.

As the girl, now having gained back control of her calm after a refreshing cup of tea, realized how we all have a choiceto make at any situation- do we let the situation mould us in a particular way, or do we use the situation to create something wonderful and refreshing- be it something material or abstract, like emotions and moments.

Personally, I have come to appreciate, understand and inculcate the 'tea' mindset in my life. I used to be like a bar of sodium dropped in water- burst out explosively and cause havoc when faced stress.

But I'm happy I realized that a cup of strong tea is as explosive as sodium dropped in water, only in a less destructive, a more purposeful, refreshing and productive way.

And I sincerely hope that everyone reading this understands that and shifts from being a potato, or an egg, to a tea. It's not only good for you, but those around you as well. And that's important since if everyone did something good for those around them, then we're all doing good to everyone. When (it's only a question of when, not if) we achieve a society that does this, we will create heaven on Earth.