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When Life Gives You Lemons - Make Something Tasty!
Most of us know that phrase, “when life gives you lemons”. The term is coined in several ways such as: when life feeds you lemons or, when life throws you lemons. The word “When” at the beginning of the statement means it’s open-ended and leaves room for addition. Many of us have our own catch phrase as what to do with such lemons should life throw them our way. What is your ending to that statement?
What does “When life gives you lemons” mean?
Things doesn’t always go the way we plan and many people face obstacles and hardship throughout their lifespan. Sometimes we work hard to make things go smoothly but some things always seem to get in the way.
We often find ourselves in situations that cause us some sort of pain and anguish. Sometimes, no matter how sweet we try to make things, they end up being sour or bitter. Many people blame life for the pickle they find themselves in and many times it seems that no matter what, they just can’t seem to get things right.
Is life feeding you lemons?
Are you sucking on the sour of the lemons or making good use of them?
What is your lemon?
Okay so by this you know I’m not talking about the citrus but rather an obstacle or hardship faced at some point in life. There are many things that could be considered someone’s lemon such as:
- Death and grief
- Heartbreak, divorce, rejection
- Financial loss, debt, low income
- Stress, depression, health issues
- A loved one, an enemy, a friend or even a spouse
- General everyday problems which plague mankind
These are some of the things which could be considered sour to us, hence the term lemon. In many cases our heartache and problems are caused by someone close to us or even our own bad judgment.
We should ask ourselves, ‘what is my lemon’, and we may be surprised at the answer.
“When life gives you lemons, you don’t make lemonade. You use the seeds to plant a whole orchard – an entire franchise! Or you could just stay on the Destiny Bus and drink lemonade someone else has made, from a can.” (Anthon St. Maarten)
“If life gives you lemons, don’t settle for simply making lemonade – make a glorious scene at a lemonade stand.” (Elizabeth Gilbert)
“If life hands you lemons, throw them back and yell “I WANTED CHOCOLATE!”” (Unknown)
— Several Authors
Lemons are good for you!
Actual lemons have many great properties that are good for you. Lemons offer a great source of vitamin C and pectin fiber which is good for colon health. Lemons contain acids which are great for the skin, and some people swear that lemons help them lose weight.
In addition to the health benefits, lemon peel contains anti-bacterial properties and can be used to clean house, kill bacteria and disinfect. Not to mention how great your meals taste when cooking with the fruit.
I say all that to say this; the harshness you face could be the one thing that makes you better. What do I mean? Think about it. That one thing in life that is your lemon could also be the one thing that brings about a change in your life.
If after facing tribulation you use that experience to make your life better, then your lemon would have been put to good use.
It takes a positive attitude to see the good when bad things happen. It takes an optimistic state of mind to use your lemons to make lemonade.
Make your Lemon edible or usable
When life gives you lemons:
- Make lemonade
- Make a lemon meringue pie
- Make lemon pepper chicken
- Make lemon ice-cream
- Make a disinfecting cleaning solution
- Make lemon squares
- Make lemon drops
Okay, so you’re not going to go out and actually buy lemons. You make the most of your bad situation by turning it into a victory. No one said it was easy but taking the right attitude is the key to making your lemon meringue pie.
Many of the quotes in this article encourage us to use our lemon to make things sweeter, showing life that it cannot get the best of us. This is the key to a happy life.
Life isn’t always what we make it but it is up to us make ourselves better and happier than our circumstances. Life will always give us lemons but what we do with those lemons will determine our successes and failures.
“When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye.” (Cathy Guisewite)
“When life gives you lemons, chunk it right back.” (Bill Watterson)
“When life gives you lemons, give them to me, I love free stuff!”(Unknown)
“I believe when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade…and try to find someone whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.” (Ron White)
“When life gives you lemons make grape juice and sit back and watch the world ask how you did it.” (Tori Truax)
— Several Authors© 2014 Carolee Samuda
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