When Life gives you lemons, make Limoncello

Published on 11 May 2020 at 17:13

Don't even front! Life can definitely be compared to eating a bunch of sour lemons right now.

We are living in an unprecedented time with the global sheltering-in-place or lock down safety measures and all. Makes me pull a sour face like this li'l man here sometimes.

Like what IS this?!

 

But in the same breath, I am also quite humbled by it, knowing there are others out there who have it much worse off than me. I am more grateful for my health as well, now more than ever. Really counting all my blessings daily.

 

It also reminded me a couple days ago of when I was in a similar going-no-where-slowly situation when I totally bust up my ankle. I had to crutch it out for 2 months, and after that still couldn't walk properly for 3 more months, because it was such a severely torn ligament.

Staying home unless driven somewhere, was how my life was for most of 2009. And then one day, as I went downstairs to the kitchen, after about a month and a half of being out of action, I got to taste some more sour lemons.

As luck would have it, my housemate decided to polish our wooden stairs that day and not issue a warning. So I slipped, fell and bust up my booty as well.

Ha.ha.ha Hilarious.

 

No. I assure you, back then it was NOT funny to me.

I sat on the stairs and burst out in tears. I felt all the weeks of frustration and stress of not being able to do much, building up inside. All my gigs cancelled.

Not being able to perform, hence no income. Just having bought a house a few months before, with bills coming out of my ears. Being in constant pain, with a swollen ankle that felt like it was tied to my leg with a string of spaghetti, I was ready to explode!

 

Then a friend came to console and asked: "Why don't you just start on a new album? Take your mind off things a little bit?"

I had just released my first solo project the year before and was still touring or rather, really upset about not being able to, and not focused enough to start on anything as creatively demanding as another full length album. But in the end I thought it through, and slowly started spending more time in the studio.

 

During this period, my second album The Human Condition was born.

I released it the next year in 2010, and I am still very grateful for the lesson learned through my friend. When things get tough, we tend to focus only on the negative and how to fix it, even if there is really nothing we can do about it at the time. So why not look elsewhere and find something positive to do, accomplish, think about, build on.

 

I am applying that lesson to my life right now, as I am building on my new venture.

Thank God for Life lemons! And the lessons that come with it. Just chill and enjoy with some ice ;)))

 

Cheers!

EJ