I’m going to put it out there: lemons aren’t the most versatile fruit in the world, are they? If you’re looking for a piece to munch on as one of your five-a-day, a lemon just isn’t going to cut it. Your dentist would be horrified!
Granted, they are the star of a good posset, are great squeezed over fish, and some people like slice in their G&T. (Personally, I prefer limes.)
So when life gives you lemons, as the saying goes — see, it’s not just me who isn’t raving about them — well, why do anything at all? It’s ok to get lemons from time to time. It’s ok to not like them and not to embrace them.
Trying to make them more palatable, by turning them into lemonade, seems to me to be a waste of time and energy — not to mention sugar.
When it comes to life, we are almost programmed to persistently ‘repackage’ difficult or uncomfortable experiences by positively thinking our way back to happy, or by stoically channelling our British war-time spirit.
But as Syd Banks said: “Life is a contact sport; we’re going to get our knocks”. More and more I see that we’re meant to feel it all, and that in itself makes it easier to do.
If life feels like an exhausting, never-ending game of lemonade production for you right now, perhaps it’s time to step away from the lemons? If you think it might be helpful to have a chat about life, lemons & lockdown, feel free to get in touch.
