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Heartwings Love Notes 883 - Lemons are Luscious when Sweetened

Heartwings says, "To be helpful, life's lemons must be sweetened with understanding."

Versatile lemons can be used in so many ways it is impossible to count them. You can use them to polish your furniture or to soften your elbows. I found a lot about their uses when I was doing research for my book Up to my Neck in Lemons. In the Middle Ages ladies used a special straw brim with holes in it to lighten their hair.They would pull strands of hair through the holes and bleach them by painting them with lemon juice and siting in the sun.

Though they have so many other uses as I discovered, we usually think of lemons as food. Yet unlike most fruit, they are not meant to be eaten plain--like apples, or even peeled and sectioned like oranges. Rather they make a fine ingredient or a wonderful seasoning. Life's lemons are equally useful. They can season or sweeten our experience, helping us to make our best use of it to learn and grow. However it does take experience and tenacity both to learn this and to put it into operation.

The first and most important skill to develop is observation. I must first notice how I am looking at my life lemon. Once I see how I perceive it, I can change my perspective and see it differently. For example if I am feeling frustrated because something isn't working the way I want it to, I can keep pushing against the difficulty or I can look to see if there is another way to approach it or perhaps even how I can use it to my advantage.

I can choose how to use this particular lemon—as a sour taste or as a reminder that something must change in order for me to succeed. Of course this can take time and effort, but so does any good recipe, whether for happy living or lemon meringue pudding or pie. In my new book, Up To My Neck in Lemons, I have many actual lemon recipes together with poems, and essays that provide examples of how I have dealt with some of my life lemons. If you would like a copy, please contact me. I'll tell you how to get a personally autographed copy.

May you find good ways to use your life lemons,

PS If you would like to share a lemon recipe I would be so happy to see it. Thanks for reading my column, I so love my readers!

I love to hear from readers and would be honored if you would comment and let me know any suggestions or thoughts. If a friend sent you this, you can sign up at my web site, www.heartwingslovenotes.com, where more love notes can be found in the archives.

Blessings and Best Regards,
Tasha Halpert
 

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