Life and Lemons

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"

To most, in our unpleasant world, we all stand shoulder to shoulder waiting patiently for some universal force to place into our hands the needs of our sustenance and life's pursuits. The general understanding of this age old saying puts forth the implication that lemons are a rare and precious gift. We must take advantage of these gifts of opportunity before they slip and we are left empty handed once again.

It is true that in this world we are judged by our ability to make lemonade and, as clearly seen by combining the brief points of this article, we can clearly see the harsh paradigm that exists: That our ability to thrive as humans depends on our ability to take advantage of random opportunities as they come and go. We must wait patiently for our time to excel and dare not to fail in the face of chance.

I would like to alter the implications of this adage and submit to the reader a more accurate metaphor for our progress through life. We are all walking through a grove, there are lemons all around. Some lay, rotten, on the ground and others are out of our reach. There appear to be only a small, ripe few ready for us to pluck. This must be why it seems as though there are so few to distribute across our global humanity. The important distinction I would like to establish follows. We have the capacity for great ingenuity. Combine this with a little bit of creativity and we may now not see just the ripe few ready to be plucked but those which may be reached with a ladder, those that may be plucked and saved until ripe, even those which have fallen and rotten that may fertilize a new tree from which new opportunity grows. With a small tweak in the interpretation of our world, we may see that there are infinite opportunities all around, that we are always surrounded by a sea of possibility. We must be bold and daring enough to capture these gifts, not foolish enough to wait until one falls into our hands.

Though brief, I hope this article instills a sense of empowerment within the reader; that he or she may take a look around and truly understand the multitude of possibility in our brilliant world. I hope that the reader may resist the urge to feel as though chance has ruined their potential. We must take responsibility to create our own luck. The fruits of this endeavor are infinite as is each persons potential for success.

- W. W.