Making Lemonade

The other day I looked in the mirror and realized that I have the same hairdo that my mother had for so many years.  I have natural curls that have a mind of its own.  But that day in particular, I had a wave in my hair that reminded me of my mother.  Quite frankly, I never liked her hairdo.  I always wondered why she never had it styled.  She had natural curls too....with a mind of its own as well.

It got me thinking about how some of us don't want to be like our mother or our father.  As children we grow up saying I won't be like so and so....keep this thought in mind....it will become clear soon.

There are so many wise sayings that we hear from time to time.  "When life throws you lemons...make lemonade," or "Don't get mad....get even."  When we would get mad at our parents we would say to ourselves...."I'll never be like them!"

But here's the reality.  Who else would we emulate?  Our parents taught us a lot over the years.  Who else would we learn from about life?  While education in school is important....it is fleeting.  How many times a day do we use what we learned in school?  How many of us really need most of the facts we learned in school?

Believe me....I loved my parents very much.  But quirky stuff like a wave in my mom's hair made me realize that what we don't like or what we fear will definitely come into our life....so that we can learn the lesson of making lemonade....it is the way God or the Universe or Karma.....whichever you believe in....gets even with us.  Isn't that funny?  A mere wave in my hair caused my mind to go every which way with thoughts about life.

A friend of mine called today and mentioned something that happened in her life and how she was afraid that people would think she was a bad mother.  "Judge not....lest ye be judged."  That one is appropriate here.....but it goes deeper than that....being judged is just the shallow end of the pool.  The deeper end is about the fear.  Fear of letting go of the side of the pool will not allow you to learn to swim.  How many of us live life this way....in fear?

These days there are very fearful things happening in the world.  Tsunamis, earthquakes, countries going bankrupt, gas prices....falling real estate market....unemployment, war, banks closing, huge companies closing their doors.  The other day when I was at a buffet.....the casino decided to make a decision to not serve spinach in their salad bar for lunch....only for dinner.  That was my favorite part of the buffet!  There was another woman in line and she asked where's the spinach....and I mentioned that the last 2 times I was there it wasn't served.....that's how we found out.  Silly don't you think?  We are a planet living in scarcity....living in fear!  But shouldn't we be living in abundance?  It is like the chicken and the egg all over again. 

Our scarcity thinking has put us where we are today!  Now....instead of living life in fear....how about living it in abundant love.....let's help our neighbors in need and at the same time make our life more enjoyable?  I know that this goes against everything we have been taught.  We have been taught to save for a rainy day.....well it isn't raining it is flooding!  Fire ants cling to one another in a flood so that they can float along....think about it....these tiny creatures know better than we do.

The answer is to give away.....not take away or withhold.   Give more love and "pay it forward."  Remember that movie?  Whatever you can contribute to the planet.....do it.  At the very least....give a smile to everyone you pass by.  Say thank you with a smile.....to everyone that serves you.  When you get in an elevator....smile and say hello!  We all need this!  Contribute to the world and it will be a better place!

Life can be a bowl of cherries....so why are we living in the pits?  What can we do to put more fun back in our planet?  Let me know if you have any ideas.....I am all ears!