We are Lemonade Makers

 

We all know the sour taste

Biting into lemons

But adding a little sugar

A little sweetness

To the lemons

Along with some water

Creates

A refreshing beverage

That delights our pallet

And quenches our thirst

Even in the unbearable heat of the day.

 

We look at what others endure and think there is no way we could walk through that fire.  We face our own personal hells and think:  How will I walk through this?  Events pop up throughout our days that leave us grimacing as if we just bit into a lemon but we look for the sweetness, all the good that we can mix with the sour – counting our blessings, remembering who we are, surrounding our Self with others who stoke our creative fires and sense of Self, looking to the past for evidence that we can actually do even more than we know we can.  We are lemonade makers!

I received an email from a friend who recently dismantled a business partnership after 20 years and is blazing a new path.  After a few days of processing the shock, grieving the lost friendships and the life that was, adding some sugar to the jolting bitterness, he declared:  I am a lemonade maker!  He is making calls, knocking on doors, putting himself out in the world in ways he never would have imagined.  Doors are opening through his effort and through the grace of the heavens.  He is seizing the opportunities found in the uncomfortable heat of this season, this day in his life.  No matter what, he has committed to reminding himself:  I am a lemonade maker!  Expecting his thirst to be quenched and delighting in the new tastes life is presenting even the sour.

The invitation this day is to remember we are lemonade makers – we do this effortlessly at times in ways we don’t even recognize because it is second nature and we are called to do this in ways that seem impossible when faced with events that rock us to our core.  Go to gratitude.  Look for the good.  Acknowledge what is troubling you, weighing heavy on your heart.  Be compassionately present to your Self breathing reassurance into your body, heart, mind and soul.  Grab fear by the hand and jump in the murky waters doing what you must to make the lemonade.  Talk to yourself gently being the best friend you need and the nurturing mother that swaddles you in abiding love.  Act as if your very life depends on caring for your Self and making choices that lead you to freedom, knowing you deserve a life you love, knowing you are precious and knowing there will never be another day just like this one so find a way to enjoy it come what may.