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Mistaken identity...

After getting all of Pope Benedict's luggage loaded Into the limo, (and he doesn't travel light), the Driver notices that the Pope is still standing on the curb. "Excuse me, Your Holiness," says the driver, "Would You please take your seat so we can leave?"
 
"Well, to tell you the truth," says the Pope, "they Never let me drive at the Vatican when I was a Cardinal and I'd really like to drive today."
 
"I'm sorry, Your Holiness, but I cannot let you do That. I'd lose my job! And what if something should Happen?" protests the driver, wishing he'd never gone To work that morning.
 
"Who's going to tell? Besides, it will be a new experience for You, too" Says the Pope with smile. Reluctantly, the driver gets in the back as the Pope Climbs behind the wheel. The driver quickly regrets His decision when, after exiting the airport, the Pontiff floors it, accelerating the limo to 105 mph (Remember, he's a German Pope.)
 
"Please slow down, Your Holiness!" pleads the worried driver, but the Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens.
 
"Oh, dear God, I'm gonna lose my license -- and my job!" moans the driver. The Pope pulls over and rolls down the window as the cop approaches, but the cop takes one look at him, goes back to his motorcycle, and gets on the radio.
 
"I need to talk to the Chief, "he says to the dispatcher. The Chief gets on the radio and the cop tells him that he's stopped a limo going a hundred and five.
 
"So bust him," says the Chief. "I don't think we want to do that, he's really important," said the cop.
 
The Chief exclaimed," All the more reason!"
 
"No, I mean really important," said the cop with persistence.
 
The Chief then asked, "Who ya got there, the Mayor?"
 
Cop: "Bigger."
 
Chief: "The Governor?"
 
Cop: "Bigger."
 
Chief: "The President?"
 
Cop: "Bigger."
 
"Well, "said the Chief, "Who is it?"
 
Cop: "I think it's God!"
 
The Chief is even more puzzled and curious, "What makes you think it's God?" Cop:
 
"He's got the Pope as a chauffeur."

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A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

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, 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. & nbsp;She pulled the eggs out a! nd plac ed them in a bowl.  Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asks, "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 be en fragile.  Its thin ou! ter she ll 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 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 break-up, 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 tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? &nbs p;The bean actually chan! ges 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, when 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?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of 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. !  L ive your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you (I JUST DID); to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.  If you don't send it, you will just miss out on the opportunity to brighten someone's day with this message!

It's easier to build a child than repair an adult.

This is so true - may we all be COFFEE.



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