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Home / Essays / Making Lemonade

Making Lemonade

by Patricia Petro

lemons

You know the old saying: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

It’s relatively easy to be positive, motivated, and engaged when all is going well. It’s not quite so easy to have that Pollyanna attitude when life gets tough and things turn sour.

We all know about those wicked curves. They are the detours—the disappointments, drama, and heartache—that knock us down, bring us to our knees, and sometimes keep us there, praying for courage and guidance.

“Positive attitude helps to cope more easily with the daily affairs of life. It brings optimism into your life, and makes it easier to avoid worry and negative thinking. If you adopt it as a way of life, it will bring constructive changes into your life and make you happier, brighter, and more successful. With a positive attitude, you see the bright side of life, become optimistic, and expect the best to happen. It is certainly a state of mind that is well worth developing and strengthening.” —Remez Sasson, Success Consciousness.

One of my favorite songs of all time comes from the 1951 musical, The King and I, by Rogers and Hammerstein.

lemon slicesI Whistle A Happy Tune

Whenever I feel afraid
I hold my head erect
And whistle a happy tune
so no one will suspect I’m afraid.

While shivering in my shoes
I strike a careless pose
And whistle a happy tune
and no one ever knows I’m afraid.

The result of this deception
is very strange to tell
For when I fool the people
I fear I fool myself as well!

I whistle a happy tune
and every single time
The happiness in the tune
convinces me that I’m not afraid.

Make believe you’re brave
and the trick will take you far.
You may be as brave
as you make believe you are.

The lyrics are all about the power of suggestion . . . how it is possible to overcome negative thoughts . . . and, in the process, become the happy person you want to be.

Being positive touches every phase of our lives and impacts the way we behave and interact with others.

Attitude is everything.

I learned this truth way-back-when I was on a mission to recover the essence of the happy girl I once was. No matter how I felt, if I smiled, people smiled. The happier I appeared to be, the more I attracted happy people who, in turn, uplifted my spirits. It was the old domino effect and as contagious as a hearty laugh. Before I knew it, I was happy as could be, enjoying life, and feeling good about myself.

Patricia Petro is a published writer, poet, aspiring novelist, lifestyle blogger, and web designer. She had been administrator of this website, Inspiration for the Spirit, since its creation in 2002. Patricia dabbles in just about everything creative . . . loves to travel . . . enjoys music, movies, and the theater . . . and is an avid photographer, gardener, and interior decorator. She lives in a cozy little house on a lake in Northwest Ohio with her husband, Tom, and their Schnauzer pup, Lucy.

Copyright © 2011 Patricia Petro • All rights reserved.
Top photo: Traditional Home.
“I Whistle a Happy Tune” from The King and I • Music by Richard Rodgers • Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II •
Copyright ©1951 Williamson Music, Inc.

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