Turning lemons into lemonade
While walking this past Monday, I heard a jogger coming behind me who passed me with her dog happily trotting behind. The dog kept looking back at me, and began to pull his owner as he twisted his neck to look at me. He was a most determined dog, choosing not to move further until we had made contact.
The owner recognized her dog’s determination and yielded willingly to stop, allowing us to interact. As I bent down the dog began jumping up, and it was at this time I realized it only had 3 legs; it was missing one of its front legs. The crazy thing is that this dog was absolutely happy and carefree, seemingly full of life and had joy for the present moment. It was a medium sized rat tarrier with a black coat and paws dipped in white.
I was so delighted in the dog and how amazingly happy it was and looked up at the owner to ask about its name. “Lemon,” she said. Ensuring that I had heard correctly I repeated back, “Your dog’s name is Lemon?”
“Yes,” she said.
After a short exchange of affection with her dog, she readied them both to return to their run. Lemon relented some wanting to extend our visit. However, with enough tugging it was persuaded to go with the owner and began trotting.
This so blessed my soul; all I could think about was how that dog had no clue that it had lost a leg; its focus was on enjoying the day. The name of the dog was absolutely perfect because it was taking lemons and making lemonade. I truly believe that Lemon was more than happy that he only had 3 legs.
You’ve heard the saying, take lemons and make lemonade. It is a metaphor in life for using the trials and tribulations you experience to have something greater you would not have otherwise. Think about that; you cannot make the wonderful tasting drink lemonade without the sour lemon.
It hit me in that moment, how when we see things in life as a “loss,” then we are drinking of the sour part of our self-image. We are tasting and believing the sour things in life that have happened to us, seeing everything from a viewpoint of being less than, losing, missing something, etc. As a result, we live in a depressed state, leaning on a hallucination or delusion that is not even real!
Instead of focusing on the fact that we might have lost something or have a losing situation, or even maybe have lost a loved one, if we look positively at the most sour situation and realize that the circumstance or person we might have lost, has actually ADDED value to our life. Therefore, we have not really lost, but GAINED! We’ve gained a viewpoint, a perspective that is sweet and tasty, a delicious drink of goodness that puts a smile on our face. Our memories are filled with thoughts of goodness and we think of lovely things.
That was exactly what I saw in Lemon this week as I was running. That dog was actually smiling with its tongue hanging out of the side of its mouth, twisting its head to make sure I could see his smile. A smile that totally blessed my soul, and the sweetest attitude leaving a powerful impression on my heart and mind.
When we are dealt a bunch of lemons in life, we have to realize, it is in those moments that we have ample opportunity to have a different perspective, which turns a sour situation into something sweet. This changes the mindset, it changes our life, bringing us a sweet tasting self-image.
8 For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. Philippians 4:8 AMPC