In Sierra Leone we are blessed with many trees of life, the most prevalent being the all-year-round, green leafed and thorny lemon tree. Many people tell us that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. This is such limited advice because we have gone beyond that. Here is what more we are doing with our abundant lemons: In my household where almost everyone is in one diet or the other, we detox by regularly drinking hot water with lemon. When there are no fresh lemons around we make do with freshly squeezed ones in the freezer. As for garnishing salads, it is done with such extravagance of carefully cut lemon slices. I particularly like toning my face at the end of the day with lemon juice. It keeps my skin soft, supple, smooth and germ free. Before we drink any over-the-counter meds for cold and flus, we drink loads of hot lemon water with ginger, garlic and honey. I can go on and on about what we do with lemons not only in this household but in many others as well. My point is with the ebola crisis continuing to manifest itself in many ways and forms, economic hardships are now prevalent in one form or the other in many parts of the country. You need to tool yourself with coping skills and identify mechanisms of beating the challenges. If you unable to do it successfully in your home base, your country of birth, where there are home advantages and hopefully familial support, you are therefore unlikely to meaningfully conquer anywhere else. You can run, but you certainly cannot hide because what you will be running away from is within yourself. I have used lemons here as a metaphor to establish that, there is a reason you find yourself where you are today and the challenges you are facing today. Do not run away. The tools you need to deal with any hardship that you face are already within you. Have quiet time, meditate, pray if you have to and unlock the competences you already have to conquer and succeed where you are right now. Like I have already said, we have embraced the abundance of economic, social and political lemons here in Salone to the extent that when we do not have them in the house, we start panicking. Reframe your mind, revitalize your life. Embrace every challenge coming your way by seeing the challenges as opportunities, ladders to move one more step up and far away from any current hardships.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 07:21:03 +0000
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