When life hands you lemons… ask for oranges.  I had this thought this morning. Of course I don’t simply mean to wish for something better. But on a very deep level most of us are conditioned, or hard-wired, to expect what we are getting; so, of course we get what we expect. Changing this requires the ability and willingness to ask for more. And herein lies the rub.

When life hands us lemons as children, we typically do one or two things. We learn to make lemonade and/or we “sour grape” what we aren’t getting. “Love? Who needs love? I’ll show you. I don’t need your stupid love anyway.” We learn to do without and not risk asking for more.

One member of my Vision Circle, the amazing Diana Loomans, said that we’ve got to tug on the apron of the universal mother when we want something. She called it volition. We lose this volition if, when we tugged on the apron of our early caregiver, our needs weren’t met. We must override the disappointment and sense of dread we may now feel in asking for more of what we want. We must learn how, and then be willing, to tug at the apron of the universal mother. This mother will not deny us.

When life hands you lemons… ask for oranges.