Lemons are inevitable in the journey of life. There are just too many moving parts within and around us for things not to go wrong, or at least not go the way we want them to. The challenge is to make lemonade whenever this happens– a process of personal autonomy, responsibility, and evolution. There is an old Buddhist saying, “Pain is inevitable, but suffering is a choice”. Sadly, because we have not been taught how to move through our pain, we are more bitter and twisted, than refreshed and free. Instead of making thirst-quenching lemonade, we become lemons in other people’s lives, hence the saying, “Don’t be a lemon!”
Neighbors and nations have gone to war with each other because of lemonish behavior. No one seems to be making lemonade these days. Why are we not learning from history, coming up with better solutions to all the lemons in the world? It appears we are still largely ignorant in the art and science of lemonade production. We should all be making truck loads of lemonade, but this requires training and practice.
To turn a lemon into lemonade, you first soften the lemon, cut it in half, and squeeze the juice out of it. So, when life hands you a lemon, you need to be sensitive and aware that something uncomfortable is happening inside of you. You then need to open yourself up, by emotionally self-regulating. This is a three-step process of identifying, acknowledging, and expressing (privately) what you are feeling. Finally, you need to squeeze out all the juice, by applying your mind to the primary feeling, and the automatic thought that lies behind the feeling. It’s called the ABC of psychology – thoughts, elicit feelings, and feelings drive responses. Having done this, you examine your thought fully through a process of inquiry and turnaround, eventually liberating your mind from certain limiting concepts and beliefs. At the end of this well-engineered production line, out flows a refreshing and liberating glass of ice-cold lemonade, not only for you, but everyone around you. To set up your own successful lemonade stand, please contact me.