I am copying and pasting my most recent blog entry from my website you can find it at www.crankyponts.com
Sorry, you'll have to copy/paste it in to your web browser because I am having an issue with inserting a link. Anyway, I am finding that I have a lot to say today. I have written two blogs. (Pay no mind to the weird font that separates contractions - I think its cool) I am sharing this one with you:
Lemonade that cool refreshing drink
I’m sure you have all heard the saying “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade”. We all hear it and cringe because it is like belittling the situation that we are in. Yet, I feel there is something to be said about cringing from the thought of lemonade. Lemonade is cool and refreshing. Lemons are nasty if taken alone; they are bitter and sour. That’s why when life gives you lemons you are supposed to make lemonade. Lemonade is not nasty nor is it bitter. It is sweet, cool, and refreshing.
That said, I have overcome many hurdles in my life by making light of the situation. I have become a strong soul because of all of my adversities. Yet, it seems that just when life seems just a little bit tolerable, another hurdle is thrown at me. I do not want to whine, piss, and moan about this. Instead, I will make lemonade. I will look at the positive as opposed to the negative. This lemonade saying goes along with counting your blessings and all of those other sayings out there that are there to seemingly make you feel better when something goes wrong.
I have a whole list of hurdles I am trying to overcome as most people do. I am going to make a broad generalization here and say that all people have adversities in their lives. For one person it might be working in a job that they cannot stand but have to stay because there are virtually no jobs out there. For another person it might be that they are unemployed and even though they have made painstaking efforts to find work, the process was long and hard but they cannot find work. Then they find out they are about to lose their unemployment benefits which, would cause them to begin to stress even more about how they are going to pay their bills when they were just scraping by on the unemployment benefits.
Another person out there might be unable to afford food and we all need sustenance. So, they have to rely on the food pantry (if there is a food pantry near them) to be able to get food. Another person might be homeless and not know where they will stay next or if the homeless shelter has beds for them to use. Another person might be dying from cancer or another ailment.
Needless to say, our burdens are our burdens and it is important to not focus on those burdens because obsessing and focusing on them will not make them go away. There is no way to make your burdens go away overnight. There is nothing to do but count your blessings and hope for the best. For me, I am a single mother of two children on the autism spectrum. I do not whine and complain about it – I just beetroot with what I need to beetroot with. I do not in any way, shape, or form count this as one of my burdens. They are my blessings because they have taught me to be strong for them. I was weak before them. I was selfish before them.
Now, I see me in them and make sure that they get services they need and make sure that I make them as comfortable as possible. I may not have the money to buy them the coolest clothes or the latest video game but they have everything they need in me. Do not get me wrong, they have electronics like netbooks, a Wii, a Playstation, and handheld video game systems. They have toys up the wazoo that I am always tripping over but the most important thing that they need and have is me! They may not tell me this but they tell me everything else.
Another blessing I have is that I have a roof over my head. It is a nice apartment at an affordable price. We don’t have the finest furniture, our dinnerware doesn’t match but at least we have a couch to sit on, a table to eat at, and plates to eat on. I may not be able to afford the finest of foods but at least we have food to eat. Things could be much worse.
Life has definitely handed me a whole lot of lemons throughout my lifetime but then again was it life that handed me lemons or was it the choices that I made? I prefer to think it was the choices that I made. Life is what you make of it. Yes, there will always be hurdles to jump over but most of the time its not always the best to dwell in the burden but rejoice in the blessings in your life. That is what will truly make you happy. Happiness comes from within. Being bitter from those darned bitter lemons that life hands you will only cause you to continue to be bitter about those burdens. It is better to rejoice in your sufferings because without suffering there is no room for perseverance, without perseverance you won’t build character and without character there will be no hope. Who wants to live without hope. (and yes, I just translated a Bible reference Romans 5:3-5).
Seriously, do you want to be hopeless? Do you want to wallow in self-pity? I would think you would want to rejoice in your life and all of its blessings no matter how small. At times, I find myself wallowing in self-pity but then I think that I must rise up above my sorrows, burdens, and adversities, and get off the pity pot. There is an old Japanese proverb: “Fall seven times, get up eight!” No matter how many times life throws lemons at you, no matter how many times you fall down, you must keep going and remember that you are building your character and getting stronger each time one of those lemons comes flying at you. Next time, duck!
I could go on and on about counting your blessing, rising above your adversities, and getting up even though you want to stay down but I think I have said just about enough. Please remain hopeful in your heart that things can and will get better. As I always say, it all works out in the end. It might not be the ending you expected but it was the ending that was right for you.
And so ends the gospel of Eunice.
There were no animals harmed in the making of this blog. Excuse any typos or grammatical errors. I do not edit until after I post!
Tags: Eunice Crankyponts Lemons Lemonade Website
