When life throws you lemons, make lemonade.
Do you feel you have bad luck because of all the bad things happening to you? Do you feel you are all alone, and no one is coming to rescue you? We all have these feelings when we face adversity. We even look to others to save us, as if they have the answers to our questions and solutions to our hardships.
In reality, we need to look within. The answer is within us all the time. Those hardships toughen you up for life. They are there for a reason. Relationships are designed to build relatable interactions between people and partnerships are in place to strengthen those relationships. Hardships, on the other hand, are in place to test our strength and our ability to use those relationships we’ve developed over time.
As I reflect on many of my beach trips, being on the beach taught me the importance of building “ships”. Those are special kinds of ships that you don’t see, but you feel and experience. Let’s take an example and look at the relationship between the ocean and the sand.
Observing how the ocean waves move and how volatile or calm they can be at times, I would say that the ocean has a typical human’s personality. We all go through ups and downs in life and some things irritate us more or less than others, which is reflected in our actions or reactions. Now, the sand, on the other hand, is a bit different. While the ocean is in motion at all times, the sand is in a standstill position until a force hits it. The force can be the wind, humans or animals walking on it, and, of course, the ocean. The sand represents our “ships”. They are there in a standstill position until something or someone alters them. When the tides are high, they impact more sand. The sand changes its color, shape, and texture accordingly. However, different areas of the sand act differently upon ocean/sand interaction.
The marks left behind from this interaction are amazing. Pay close attention to the details left behind in the photo. The seashells of all sizes and shapes, the lines indicating how high the tides were, human footprints, and the sand’s physical properties, such as color and texture. This is the partnership that the ocean and the sand have with each other.
What does that mean for you as you transition in life and encounter a hardship? Well, the only constant in life is change, just like the only constant in the ocean/sand partnership is the motion of the ocean and idle sand. Changes in life can be difficult at times, but they are there for a reason. You need to build “ships” with your surroundings, like the sand and ocean do.
As we experience this COVID-19 pandemic, think about how you want your “ships” to look like, so you are leaving your special marks behind. What kind of a relationship do you want with yourself? Your family? Friends? Work? What kind of marks do you want to leave behind when you encounter a hardship with any one of them? At the end, make your lemonade the tastiest and most delicious one that everyone wants a taste of.