WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS 🍋

Lemons - the bright, yellow, fresh, citrusy, face-scrunching delights - have a pretty bad rep. Lemons are associated with all things sour and sour is associated with… well, all things bad.

But let’s not write off this punch-packing fruit just yet. While lemons do tend to represent things that might not be going A-Okay, they also bring with them a long list of amazing benefits (both physically and figuratively) that we should all try to remember when things go a bit left.

So, what do you do when life gives you lemons? Simple: add a load of sugar and turn that sour to sweet.

2🍋2🍋 was a lemony year for pretty much everyone. No one could have anticipated the challenges, changes and choices we would have to face. For many people, 2020 was filled with the bitter sting of heartache and for others, 2020 led to many acquired feelings - a lot of which we are still working through. But despite all the difficulties the last 12 months have brought, I truly believe that with a touch of joy, a sprinkle of positivity and a generous pinch of hope, we can make the next 12 a refreshing, delicious and sweet experience.

So, if life gives you lemons, fear not because lemons make lemonade and lemonade creates smiles and smiles bring out hope. And here’s a few short reminders to hold on to about hope 💛

Our modern-day tragedy is that so often we fail to believe that we deserve the best. Instead we compare ourselves and our lives to those who seem like they have everything together, believing that it’s people like them that deserve to have love, joy and hope. If that’s you, can I encourage you to believe that no matter who you are or what your life looks like right now, no matter how difficult the last year or the last 10 years have been, and no matter what you do or don’t believe about yourself, YOU deserve to experience, enjoy and take a hold of hope.

Hope has no preference on who it applies to and it has no prerequisite on how to have it. It is simply one of life’s great gifts that every single human being deserves to enjoy. So next time you begin to doubt whether you can find hope to get you through your situation, remember that hope is for everyone. And that includes you.

At OutsideIn hope is so important to us because we know firsthand how much of an impact it can have. Throughout our work with the incredible charities we partner with and the amazing individuals we are able to help through our Wear One, Share One products and other social impact initiatives, we have seen hope in full-blown, life-changing action. We’ve seen how a smile can change someone’s day, we know how telling someone that they matter can remind them of their worth, and we’ve witnessed how the smallest act of compassion-driven kindness carries someone through a hidden trial. We’ve seen how action-orientated hope can make the world of difference and that’s why believe in the power hope holds.

If you find yourself feeling a little on the glass-half-empty side, be encouraged by the fact that no matter how difficult things are right now, there is so much power in hope. And there is hope available to you. When you hold on to hope, things will get better. Always.

Let’s jump back to the lemonade analogy for a second - think about the best glass of lemonade you’ve ever had… Is it Pink Lemonade? Homemade Lemonade? Lemonade and Soda? Whatever your fancy, one thing remains the same across all these refreshing treats - a little bit of sweetness goes a very long way. In fact, some may even say it’s the sweetness that acts as the game changer in taking lemons from the prickly sour punch they pack, to the perfect summer refreshment.

Similar to this, hope is that game-changing sweetness that we all need in our lives. You see, a life without hope is just like lemonade with only lemons - it kinda sucks. It’s difficult to swallow and it doesn’t bring much satisfaction. But, just like that little bit of sweetness, hope takes over and completely transforms our experience of the lives we live. Hope reminds us that even when times are tough, all is not lost. Hope helps us fight for our futures even when our present circumstances seem unbearable. Hope tells us that no matter what mountain faces us, we can overcome it. Hope, even the littlest bit of it, can change everything.

Hope is the game-changing ingredient we simply cannot afford to live without. Allow it to work its incredible, powerful and beautifully sweet magic in your own life.

So friend, be encouraged that the next time life hands you a sack of lemons, with just the right amount of hope, you can make that into the sweetest lemonade capable of refreshing your life and the many lives of those around you.

Hope Sweet Hope - it’s sweet indeed 💛