The course of our lives can be bumpy from time to time.  Few can say they’ve never had to negotiate a rough patch or two.  Sooner or later, things won’t go as planned, the expected reward is not as anticipated, and sometimes life just sucks.  No other way to put it.

What’s that have to do with lemons?  Nothing much, other than it brings to mind that old saying… If life throws you lemons, Make lemonade.  That’s all well and good, and the meaning behind that phrase is fairly obvious…turn something not-so-good into something good. 

Great.  What if you don’t like lemonade?  No, seriously.  If lemons are sour, lemonade is only the liquid form of that sour.  How is that an improvement?  Oh, sure.  Throw in lots and lots of sugar.  That’ll make is less sour.  But think about it.   Sugar is an additive.  You must actually have that ingredient to put into the mix.

So when life sucks, what do you do if you don’t have an additive to make it less sucky?  That’s the question many struggle with on a daily basis.  And most do so quietly, falling further and further into despair.  It’s easy for those of us experiencing one of life’s better moments to say “just be patient, all will work out” which may be tough for the struggling person to hear.  And it may only add to their feelings of inadequacy and failure that they can’t seem to be patient. But how about this—“it’s all mental, just tell yourself to pull out of it, or get over it”.  You may think that little bit of tough love is just what they need.  But those words can be crushing.  And they just might send the person over the edge.

What’s the point to all this?  Be kind.  Make it a part of your everyday behavior, thoughts, and speech.  You don’t know what others are going through and a careless word could be the last thing they hear.  Literally. Now, understand that kindness is difficult to practice.  But that’s just what it takes…practice.  Like everything else in life, the more you practice, the better you get. And those days when you’re feeling a bit of life’s suckiness?  Then perhaps the kindness you extend to someone else may not only be the additive they need, it may be the additive you need.