When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
We’ve heard this phrase often, in one form or another, and it is particularly relevant as SA and its people are pummelled by rolling blackouts, a soaring cost of living, inadequate or non-existent service delivery, organised gangs of extortionists, unemployment and crime.
Even a cursory glance at the local neighbourhood street WhatsApp group — pinging with apoplectic rage over potholes, uncollected refuse and yet another break-in — is enough to send a mild-mannered soul’s blood pressure through the roof.
All too often, as a nation, we are fuelled by anger, frothing at the mouth at the dinner table over the latest tenderpreneur scandal. Still exasperated, we then amplify that acerbic rage in more conversations and on social media. We devote a lot of time and energy to this.
Yes, the anger is justified and our government must be held accountable for its failures. It is our duty to speak out. And so we should.
But in doing so, let us not lose perspective.
What example are we setting for our children, future generations? Will they view life as a series of insurmountable obstacles to be raged about or seek out opportunities and solutions to overcome them?
A lot of good things happen around us every day. Too often they go unnoticed, drowned out by this rage-fuelled “noise”. What if we were to direct all of this energy elsewhere?
Pause to think about it. A random act of kindness costs nothing but can leave a deep impression.
One does not have to embark on a career as a politician to effect change. The potential lies within everybody to make a contribution, no matter how insignificant it may appear to be at first.
Now ask, what can I do to make a positive contribution in my community? This is the stuff, the change of mindset, that turns lemons into lemonade. Granted, on a small scale, but when that mental cog swapping is embraced by enough people, there is huge potential to change the bitter old narrative and see the results immediately.
How? Take, as an example, a family with accident-prone children. After the umpteenth visit to the emergency room at the local hospital the parents decide to get proper first aid training. It’s a sensible idea, given the circumstances (and a true story). These skills prove to be invaluable. The bug bites. So they ratchet up their training and level of competence over the years, between day jobs, and end up serving as qualified, properly registered volunteers attending to medical emergencies in their community — at no cost to patients.
It’s but one example of the tens of thousands of people who volunteer their skills, and free time, to turn bad situations into good ones in SA.
Instead of grumbling behind a keyboard about the police minister and crime, some people choose instead to join a neighbourhood watch and seek solutions to crime close to home. Others hustle to open a soup kitchen or collect food parcels for destitute families, donate money to a good cause or help prospective job candidates pull together an eye-catching CV.
One does not have to embark on a career as a politician to effect change. The potential lies within everybody to make a contribution, no matter how insignificant it may appear to be at first.
It starts with the small things: a simple smile, a random act of kindness, helping an elderly person cross a busy road, not littering, being considerate behind the wheel in rush hour traffic, setting aside the time to give your children undivided attention, being respectful towards others, donating blood, showing kindness, compassion, listening instead of talking — or shouting on Twitter.
Next time lemons appear on the horizon, take a deep breath and think about planting a lemon grove. There are certainly enough lemons in circulation at the moment, to do just that.
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