When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

May 1, 2021

Difficulties and ups and downs are a part of life, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji said. There are many occasions when we experience pain and misery, either brought on by our own unmet expectations or caused by those close to us. Regardless, he said, challenges are par for the course in this human existence and not within our control. What is within our control is how we respond to these challenges. While many of us may choose to complain, criticize, or bemoan our situation, there is another way to tackle the ups and downs in life, he said, recalling the adage: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” 

Rather than allowing a challenging situation to cause turmoil in our lives, we should learn to remain calm and tranquil, said the spiritual Master. When we are calm, we can effectively resolve the challenge before us. In doing so, we can transform lemons into sweet, replenishing lemonade. The sweetness comes from leading our lives with love. Love takes away the sour pain of life’s difficulties. We can experience this love as we go within through meditation.

When we take our attention away from the world outside and focus it within ourselves, we can connect with God’s love and light, which can uplift and strengthen us in the face of life’s troubles. Saints and spiritual Masters remind us that the key to weathering the storms in life lies in having faith in God. Through meditation we can experience God for ourselves and our faith is strengthened. The more faith we have in God, the more we can live this life in love, and the more sweetness we can add to the challenges that come our way. It all begins with meditation.