WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS...

Of course everyone thinks, "Make lemonade," as the adage goes. Let's think about this though. Making lemonade from lemons implies you have the other necessary ingredients and appropriate tools to get this job done. Suppose there is no pitcher, spoon, sugar, ice cubes and purified water to create such a delightful treat. Suppose all you have is lemons. Sometimes having lemons is, well, just having lemons.

I only had lemons for quite some time. Now, I know folks will argue that I had much more than that and it is true that I did. What I didn't have were the accoutrement to create the deliciously sweet summer-time beverage. I had lemons and I had to figure out what to do with them. Lemons by themselves are sour. They make your mouth pucker. They tighten your jaw if you eat too many. They will also ruin the enamel on your teeth. The acidity will strip away the mucous in your body, which can be a good thing if you need that to happen. Lemons can reduce the inflammation in your body. They can clarify your skin if rubbed on it. They make a lovely fragrance and are good in reducing greasy buildup in your kitchen. The rind when added to teas and desserts have a distinctive pleasant taste. And for me there is a song about the lemon tree that my mother used to sing to me; the memory is joyful. Lemons become quite odiferous when left in the sun to collect mold. The seeds can be planted though to create more lemon trees. You can remove fishy stench from your hands by rubbing lemon on them. This works on cutting boards, too. You can rinse your hair with lemon juice to get rid of shampoo and conditioner buildup. It also cleans the bottoms of copper pots. If you suck on a lemon when you have an upset stomach, you likely will feel better. Hot lemon juice wiped on glass will take paint off of it. And lemon juice is known to make dingy whites whiter without chlorine bleach.

It seems that sometimes having lemons is enough. It depends on how you look at them or what you choose to do with them. Sometimes it really is just about changing your perspective and not looking outside of yourself for a bunch of stuff to create with what you already have. And isn't that just the experience. When life gives you lemons, stop and figure out what you need them for and what you can do with them. The answers are probably right in front of you, or more than likely if you stop and think about it, right within. Divine Wisdom sometimes is just about having lemons and that is enough.