Friday, March 16, 2012

When Life Gives You Lemons

It has been awhile since my last post. The last one on this Blog was aptly a ranting.
I have been rather busy fire-fighting in real life. Like the old adage goes, "When life gives you a basket of lemons ... it's called a Lemon Rampage."




I don't recall who originally said this quote, maybe you do. I know I heard it before from my Grandma, my Mom, a couple of friends, and it gets quoted time and again, probably until you get to experience it for real. I reckon when you begin to feel like a sourpuss, then the lemon must have hit you for real.


I find it rather amusing to watch how life's twists and turns happen to people. There will always be elements of either delight or pleasant surprise, or frustration and disgust. Except when life happens to me personally, and I don't get what I expected and planned for, in a series of unfortunate circumstances, the humour escapes me.


So here I am, a couple of weeks before my birthday, trying to mull my life's "Corona with a Lemon Twist." (I used to call it "birthday blues" as back when I was kid, I had the most annoying ritual of getting a little sick before my birth day actually happens.) In a moment of weakness I told myself maybe I should stop "hoping" and dreaming, as my frustrations seem to get a life if its own acquiring strength and power along the way. Then I remembered these very words, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade."


And in a rarer moment of lucidity, I decided to actually use my head to seriously think about how I am coping with my life's frustrations. Not that I don't use my head to think, but my head is mostly filled with trivia and songs that to utilize higher brain functions such as evaluate and discern, gives me serious migraine headaches.


I started by bringing out my favourite Tequila, salt and a couple of lemon slices. to make my own version of Lemonade. And with all the wisdom and intellect I could muster, I asked myself some process questions that will help me better understand what I am dealing with and how I am coping with it:

  • Am I overrating a small problem and making it too big to have a solution? Or do I already have a solution except that I haven't acquired the patience to wait for the solution to happen?
  • I doubt I am the only one in the entire universe of mankind who has to deal with their fair share of challenges and there are a lot more in worse situations than I am. Then why do I react like the world is against me and my life is completely ruined? As a matter of fact, my life is not ruined at all. I like to think I am suffering because the attention I get feeds my ego.
  • Should I not be looking at what I have learned and how much I have gained since I am  totally getting stretched and not many people have the same challenging opportunities than what I am facing? I have grown in leaps and bounds in the past months than in all of my lifetime and I have lived to Blog about it. I am not sick, my faculties are intact, and I can still sing and dance if I want to.
  • And perhaps the best thing I can take away from all of these is that certainly in life, we do not always get what we want. Sometimes, even what we love and need get taken away from us yet it does not mean we should stop breathing.
There is no substitute to acceptance borne from clarity enabled by a shot of Tequila.

Yeah, life can be very hard and depressing. 
People can be so disappointing. Sometimes, friends let you down instead of lift you up. Sometimes the very people you have helped in the past will turn their backs on you when you need them or worst, will take you down. A lot more people can really be heartless and mean, I choose not to be like anyone of that breed.
However, it is during these times that I find it important to own up to what I am feeling at the moment, not to dwell on it but to know that it is happening and that I am hurting. It is equally important too to embrace the reality that there are certain issues out of my control but in time, they will all pass.
Whatever it is that seems to be unresolved going on in our lives will soon have their own resolutions, in time. 
Nothing is permanent. Everything is temporary.
Today, more than ever, I recognize the transitory nature of every matter and every circumstance in the universe and I find the whole concept absolutely redeeming.

The truth is, I really prefer lime to lemonade with my tequila. Salut!

16 comments:

  1. Recently, instead of assaulting my brain with a barrage of 'what ifs' and 'why do I' type angst, I've simply taken to realizing, that there is always a solution to every problem. That in life, there has to be a conclusion.

    It might sound simply but my way of coping before, was to completely melt down to the point where I couldn't function.

    Knowing that there has to be a solution, helps me cope a hell of a lot better...forgot where I was going with this...sod it! Somebody break out the Tequila!!

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  2. i've got a lovely bunch of lemons.

    fortunately for me, i LOVE lemonade

    :)

    and i love you xoxo

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  3. I would make you the best whiskey sour [from scratch, of course] for your UN-Birthday!!! If we have 1 Birthday a year, we have 364 [or 365 this year] UN-Birthday to celebrate. If you celebrate getting through another year of ups and downs, by the time the day rolls in, maybe it won't matter.
    EXAMPLE: this year, we piled into the car and went to the city for New Years' Eve Eve at Mc. Sorley's. SUre, billions of people were celebrating the next day and crowding in all over, but we took the entire bar over and celebrated so hard the next day was no big deal. I think a few of my party-goer friends actually slept thru the ball dropping. So- do something new this year. Screw it. {as in screwdriver cocktail hour Birthday Eve party!!!]

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  4. Oh- and happy Birthday to YYYOOOOUUUUUUUU

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  5. Salut to you too.

    Whatever is bothering you I hope it gets resolved soon, but for sure you will be fine. This post is proof of that.
    Wise words as ever :)X

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  6. I'm sorry to hear you are going through so much. I wish I was there to share a shot and a shoulder. Lots of love PB XO

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  7. **Nothing is permanent. Everything is temporary.**

    How Absolutely-Sadly-Sadly True.

    I'll have some tequila with you, though.

    Xxx Thinking of you this moment.

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  8. Life sucks sometimes and that's why it gives out lemons.Sending you hugs and best wishes ♥

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  9. Sometime it's hard to see how to get out of this mess life creates. I'll share a glass of tequila with you, I still try to figure out how to make lemonade.
    Take care dear, thinking of you.xx

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  10. Sorry to hear that you're going through so much. I'll break out the PatrĂ³n later and have a shot for you.

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  11. When I was in High School I started off making screwdrivers and ended up with a Pink Floyd, (long story) a concoction made of Pink Lemonade and Tequila. Super yummy. Hope your life gets better, and you only make lemonade because you want.

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  12. You see her my Blog friends, when I count one of my life's precious blessings, I count all of you in it!

    Thank you for all your kind thoughts and soothing comments.

    Like I said, it only takes about half a dozen shots of tequila, and everything up ahead becomes clearer! :)

    The one good thing about emotional pain is that it brings you closer to your soul.

    My sincerest love and respect for you guys stopping by.

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  13. Great advice to yourself. I admire people who can be their own shrinks, it's so much cheaper.

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  14. Lemonade is my favorite drink. Strawberry lemonade is an incredible enhancement to an "ordinary" lemonade. I believe that adding a little something to a problem can transform it into something great.

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  15. Thanks Gorilla Bananas: I always believed there is an upside in every difficulty. Cheaper and yet more value-adding always saves my day!:)

    Hi Stafford: Strawberry Margarita is not so bad either.

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  16. I was brought to your blog looking for an image of When Life Gives You Lemons... to use for cupcakes for my departments farewell party to itself. So... trust me I can totally understand how you are feeling. I have just come to the conclusion that everything in life happens for a reason and though it may not be for me to understand at the time it will work out in the best in the future. Because honestly we were all just content with our jobs and none of us were moving up. So... though this will be a time of hardship for all of us there is something better in store for each of us in the near future that we would not have found were it not for this unfortunate event

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