Life, Lemons and Lemonade ...

Life ...

All the good stuff that makes us happy. The things we feel accomplished from. The times we turn things around and the gratitude we feel when everything is alright.

That's the promise of life's lemons ... we can make lemonade out of them and that can be soooooo good!

Wait ... What happens to the rotten lemons? The lemons that can't even squeeze out a decent drop ... Do they just "roll on by" and go to some rotten lemon place?

No.

Lemons ...

Here's the truth. Some of us get rotten lemons. Not fit for consumption, not fit for lemonade and not full of any promises. Those of us with rotten lemons in our lives can feel isolated, unseen and hopeless. It's not about having a bad day, it's about something in your life that is so sour fucked-up that you can't even find words to describe how it makes you feel.

How about when we get rotten lemons for family? When we're young, we don't know what to do. We feel hurt, we feel pain and we feel shame. The journey through shame as a child can be crippling. It feels unfair, it feels heavy and it definitely feels rotten.

So what can we do? 

Try sorting your lemons. Find a place to separate those rotten lemons in your life. Most likely they have been so powerful  that they even have a voice that you replay in your head. "Why did I get a bad father?" "Why didn't my mom care?" "Why didn't I matter?" "I wish I was special." "I wish I had a family."

Lemonade ...

The truth about this "lemon thing" is ... you can have a good father by being one or marrying a man who is a good father to your children. You can have a mom that cares through who you marry or being one yourself. You are special and you do matter if you can find a way to love yourself. And ... go ahead and create the family you deserve.

Life, Lemons and Lemonade ... You get to choose.

Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying ...

Hey, It's Monday and I have a lot to share!


Let's kick off this week with my favorite movie quote ... That's right. It doesn't matter how old or young we are. We have to "get busy Living or get busy Dying."

What is Living?
Is it merely survival and making our way through life or is it the leaps of faith and risks we take to have more? I don't mean more stuff. Anyone can have stuff. It's the more that starts you on this journey called life that you can write your own happy ending. It starts with dreaming. Dream small, Dream big, but most importantly ...  Dream!

  
What is Dying? 
Is it that space where our soul leaves our body and we find our eternal peace or is it perpetual dying where we feel flat, uninspired, helpless and doubtful of our future? I've been there and I know it's not easy to emerge from. There's that place I find within myself, she's youthful and she knows she has to
... Believe!

For me, getting busy living is how I'm taking up my space on this earth. Am I kind? Am I productive? Am I creative and inspired? Am I vulnerable? Am I happy? Because when I'm all of those, I help others live, too. It's uplifting to my own spirit to lift up another human being. Bar none.

So if we're talking about living and dying. Consider this. What if our own non religious personal heaven or hell is right now? We all have those images of the passing through the pearly gates or the clutches of the grim reaper pulling souls into hell. What if this is your heaven or hell on earth?  Are we in a dress rehearsal for what's to come or are we on that stage now and isn't now all that matters?

Shawshank Redemption doesn't only have my favorite quote, it also has this powerful message. When Red was asked by the Parole Board why he should be released, he resolved to his own truth. He told that guy he didn't give a shit if they thought he was reformed. What was important is that he'd talk to that kid. He'd teach him by sharing his wisdom. He'd stop the noise in that young mans head and tell him it's going to be alright. It's going to be alright ...

So talk to yourself. No matter our age, we've all lived a lot of life. It's a very powerful thing to realize what we already know can help shape our own future. We may not know what we want, but we can certainly start with what we don't want. And share. We all have experiences that we can help someone with. Look for opportunities to ease another person's burden with your story. Be relevant in people's lives.

I leave you this Monday with one challenge thought. Find a moment to concentrate on one thing, breathing. Close your eyes and take some deep breaths today. Feel the air travel from your lungs into your brain. Fuel that "think-er" and energize it with breath, not thoughts.  Then Dream ...


~ First Blog via my new MacBook ~