Skip to main content

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS MAKE LEMONADE

lemon tree loaded with lemons
 The lemon tree in my backyard was bursting with flowers; we were expecting a good harvest this year. A thunderstorm struck that evening. 

 In the morning, I found the drain clogged with flower petals, leaves, twigs, and shattered hopes of a bountiful harvest.

There was mud everywhere. Neither a shelter nor a form of life was visible in the vicinity. 

The shades of mud, though captivating, did not evoke the response nature does. There was a rumbling, and the earth metres away from where I stood caved in. I shrieked. I had experienced an earthquake in my dream.

Perturbed as I was, the view outside the window was of little consolation. I could hear the rustling of tree leaves. I saw green stains of algal growth on the exterior walls of neighbours. All seemed as it was to be. A feeling of impending gloom had stayed behind.

The thought of making a pivot had often crossed my mind; to start all over again had pushed it away. The idea of walking the road less travelled had always scared me. The Universe conspired against me and pushed me in a different direction.

My aim for the day changed, and now I was thinking of alternatives. A world of information opened. Here, I stood staring at the possibilities.

I began to etch a new link. Humming-

I am walking down the line

that divides me somewhere in my mind.

On the borderline

Of the edge and where I walk alone.

(From, Boulevard of Broken Dreams)

I began this journey.

The raging storm had left a lot to clean.

Life is more about lemons (They are sour) than about lemonade. 

I was treading the ground; I still did not know about taking baby steps.

It is unrealistic to think that career pivots happen within short periods. They need hard work, a realistic approach, and an audit of one’s skills.

No matter how difficult it seems, upskilling and resilience are the only alternatives to walk that lonely road ahead. Once again, I began to work on myself, looking forward to this new journey.

When life gives you lemons, make a lemonade.

I started mixing sugar, salt, and ice. It was a refreshing reminder that I could think of making something sweet and rewarding. Here’s to embracing the journey and making the most of every opportunity.

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

World Book Day

Usha Vance became the Second Lady of the United States, following JD Vance, her husband’s election as Vice President. An accomplished attorney and the first Asian-American holding the position. Last week, she occupied the center stage in India. A lot was talked about the book Iliad, which  she carried during the campaign for her husband. What interested me was neither of them, but her title. It reminded me of something I had read years ago. Irving Wallace’s THE SECOND LADY. In our younger days, we frequented libraries and often the shops at Janpath in Delhi to buy reasonably priced paperbacks or second-hand books. My sister and I visited our chachi to borrow her library books. She would recommend them, much like Goodreads . Those were not the times of the internet, and recommendations were always made through word of mouth. I remember her narration of the political thriller. “ The first lady of the United States is abducted during a state visit to Moscow and replaced by a Russi...

Yoga se hoga… pr yoga kaise hoga? (It will happen by yoga- but how will yoga happen?)

If you have ever tried starting yoga, you know the struggle: motivation fades, and mats gather dust. For me, yoga was always on my bucket list, but what I needed was the intent to start. Then something unexpected happened. My yoga group formed an unusual trio: my 80-year-old mother, my niece visiting from the USA, and me. Every morning at 6:30 am, we gathered not in the garden but in front of our TV to tune into live yoga sessions by Saurabh Bothra. And guess what? Yoga did happen. It wasn’t perfect, but it was consistent. We stretched, laughed, and even dozed off in shavaasan, but slowly, breath by breath, a habit was born. Because sometimes all it takes is showing up together.

JULIE & JULIA

  You always say you don’t see many movies but still, you seem to have seen every one of them’ commented my husband. ‘Yes I used to see all the movies in my younger years that came on television and besides this, we have always been blessed to stay in houses which had cinema halls just within walking distance. Living in a joint family with uncles and aunts was an additional privilege too. The good old days are gone. Never mind, we now have theatres in every house. The fifty-five-inch screens and the Netflix, accentuated by home theatre systems suffice for the theatres. Soon I too disappeared into my phone, tablet and the next smart thing, all too tempting to disengage. Google's recommendation to watch ten movies before Netflix decided to remove them drew my attention to a classic. It was a recommendation also once from my sister, by name it was a woman-oriented movie and not one but two women and lastly, it appeared in the comedy section. I was all eyes and ears to ‘Julie and Juli...