Happiness Amidst Life's Lemons

Wendy Ryan said, "The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

Another way of saying that is a poster I have from when I was a newlywed. Big picture of a lemon. Below that was written: "When Life hands you a lemon, learn how to make lemonade."

Beverage Expert

I once told someone that I wasn't a gourmet cook, but I could make a great pitcher of lemonade. Sometimes, I have to remind myself of this when I'm mentally sending an RSVP for a pity party in my head.

What do you do when you have negative people in your life who are too willing to jump on the train to Negative Town? Sure, maybe you want to go to Funky Town, but everyone you knows going to the bitch fest at Negative Town.

Do you quietly back away as if from a rabid skunk? Or do you pack your bags for the trip and start bemoaning all the bad things that happened to you yesterday, last week, month, or decade?

The D Words

Griping, unloading, and moaning is a slippery slope to discontent and the othe D words: depression, discouragement, decline, and disillusionment. Avoid that treacherous path. This week, determine to be happy. Chances are you've got more to be happy about than angry and depressed. Don't lose sight of that fact.

Making lemonade out of lemons is easy. Just squeeze that sour lemon (bad situation) to discover if there's anything good in it. Take what you find and add sugar (your imagination and an optimistic attitude) and try to make something good from it. If that's a lost cause, then look at it, learn from it, and pour it down the drain (don't obsess--move on).

Takeaway Truth

That's the art of making the best of everything aka making lemonade out of lemons.