First, DISCLAIMER: This is NOT a post about Beyonce, or her ode to lemons and lemonade.
Sorry! Hope you’re not disappointed now, but, I promise to make it up. Just keep reading.
I’m sure you’ve heard the term before. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!” At any moment, and sometimes more often than not, life can give, or throw, lemons your way. And these lemons can come in all forms. Car trouble dead smack in the middle of the Christmas season, a lay off at work when you are the sole source of income in your household, LADIES - two pink lines on the stick when deep down you know he’s not the one (somebody say WOOO SAH)…..you get the idea. But, I want to talk about some particular lemons. The ones that are thrown by those you least expect, and at a time when you are on a complete life high, doing your thing! Yes, let’s talk about the unsupportive lemons…the hate lemons…the jealousy lemons….because these lemons are the ones that most likely hit us hard, unexpectedly, and are the hardest to turn into some good ol’ sweet-tastin’, porch-drinkin’, southern lemonade.
So, during one of my many chats with my kindred spirit, this post was born. Let me just take a moment to say how much I enjoy my morning chats with this particular girlfriend of mine, before my day becomes crazy. They’re usually a series of text messages between the two of us, coupled with exchange of voice notes (which we try to keep short, but always fail miserably). I almost always come away breathing lighter and thinking more clearly. It’s like free therapy! Ahhhhhh!
This particular morning I was feeling overly bothered by the noticeable lack of support, from a close friend, of my new endeavors in life. Like, we have had DEEP conversations about life and our goals, but here I was pursuing a goal, and yet not one real moment of happiness had been shared between us. Disappointing and shocking, I know, but let’s just call it what it is. LEMON ALERT! Even though I didn’t let the lemons stop my progress, I still felt the effects of the negative energy produced by it. And allowing that energy to manifest within my being would clearly interfere with my blessings at some point. So, I did what I think, for me, works best to get rid of the bad energy hold and turn those lemons into the sweetest lemonade. I vented to my sister.
We talked about the why, where and how of the whole situation. WHY we thought there was a lack of support. WHERE it might be coming. And HOW I was going to deal with it.
When you know someone well, you know their personality, their movements, their attention to detail, or lack thereof, their likes and dislikes, even their highs and lows. So, when you see an obvious shift in behavior, it’s most likely not a mistake. And adding that I’m a particularly observant individual who doesn’t miss much, then you know I recognized these lemons being hurled at me right away. But, there’s always the chance that my senses could be off, or that I could just be too emotionally involved, since in this specific instance, it was about something in which I’m invested. So, it’s always good to get a second opinion. Isn’t that what the doctors say? The second opinion may not always be able to confirm whether there are indeed lemons, but if it looks like a lemon, smells like a lemon, and tastes like one too….well honey, I don’t know what else to tell you. It’s a LEMON! And that’s exactly what was confirmed here.
I don’t think you’ll ever really know where the lemon thrower is coming from when he/she decides to try and take you out with sour fruit, but what I do know is that it’s coming from a dark place, which THAT person needs to deal with and is NOT your concern. But, realistically most normal human beings are going to ask themselves if it’s something they’ve done to bring these lemons into their life. I surely did question myself. This is where I, along with you, say “Hell no, it’s not me” and keep it moving, on to better things and sweeter days, full of lemonade. Most likely, you ain’t do shit to deserve them lemons, but shine! And maybe give off a little too much sweetness for their liking…. Hell, you probably have been supporting that same sour soul who now wants to cast their bad energy on you. Don’t you submit to the hate, jealousy, dislike and bad intentions (whether deliberate or indirect) that comes with those lemons. Instead, continue to shine, glow, cast magic and dance as you turn all those lemons into lemonade, full of love and good spirit.
Sometimes we become so consumed with the bad energy and the “who, why, where” of it all that we become paralyzed in our mission or progress towards achieving our goals. And this is where we must recognize our power and strength to overcome any obstacles in our path. These lemons are none other than hurdles on our run to the finish line, or the lemonade-making process. We have to remember, just as a runner has trained and prepared well to jump over the hurdles with ease, we’ve prepared ourselves, through living life, to make lemonade out of lemons. So, however you must make it, and in whatever size and shape pitcher, squeeze those lemons (squash the bad energy), add water (drown the hate, jealousy and dislike), add sugar (restore self-love and overpower any self-doubt) and serve up your lemonade (show the world your gifts).
From my heart to yours: You are uniquely you, and you have so much to offer the world just because you are YOU. Don’t let anyone, or anything, stop you from proceeding boldly in life, accomplishing your goals and most importantly, SHINING!
Lovingly and Unapologetically,
Lola