The Magic of Lemons

"Lemon Tree very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat" so the song goes.  I am sorry but I don't know who recorded it or wrote it.  I hope I am not breaking any laws by not citing more.  I love all things lemon and sometimes I delight in being handed a lemon by life because it gives me a chance to make lemonade.  Many creative projects or businesses have come out of a situation in which a person had a problem and then solved it by seeing it as an opportunity.  Right now that is what is going on in my life.  I am trying to develop workshops and sell information products based on how we use our inner dialogue and do, or do not, access the skill of critical thinking.  I had some trouble with a service provider and found myself delighting in analyzing all the things they were doing wrong.  Their client service was faulty and yet I wasn't angry, I just wanted to help them improve. They no longer serve me but I have learned a lot about  what quality in a service business is all about.  I also under stand what a worker might go through as well.  The dignity and pride of provider and client are both important.  So I say to all wise magicians: take your magic wand to your problems and see if you can get a bit of lemonade out of them.  I find I can usually get a dinner table joke or conversation out of my suffering.  That is something, I hope.  But magical solutions are also possible.  Look for your chance to see opportunity is all things.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Being 'Locked in"

Much of the time creative people are in different stages of bringing forth their creative work.  Unfortunately, some of this work doesn't actually see the light of day. This can be for various reasons, but the most common one is that the motivation that comes from an idea being new fades as you work on it.  There may need to be a lot of new ideas brought forth to get that particular project finished but over all, the work involved in creativity can just get old.  But take heart, wise magicians, there is hope.  Once in a while magic comes into play and we get totally committed or 'locked in' on a project.  When that happens it is easy to doggedly keep after solutions and find time to work.  Because it doesn't happen all the time I suggest that when it does you visit how it feels.  That feeling of being 'locked in' on something will become a resource for you.  Tuck that sense of 'locked in' away in your achievement tool chest.  Then if you have a project that is important but is fading call up that experience of 'locked in'.  It is quite energizing.  No waffling back and forth about 'should I or shouldn't I?'  You just are going to get it done, no matter what comes your way or for whatever reason you have or don't have.  It is yours, you have chosen it and you are doing it.  No outside considerations.  I hope you can experience the magic of being 'locked in' on a lovely creative gem.  May the spark be with you.

The Magic of Opposite

For several years I was connected with The Denver Center for Crime Victims.  One of the things I did was to help put on workshops in child safety for The Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program. In some of these workshops The Denver police Department would make presentations about gang prevalence and other  issues.  I remember one tip that was frequently given. "Tell your child that, if they are being followed in a vehicle, to turn and run in the opposite direction.  They will actually be running toward the predator but it will be in the opposite way from which the car is going.  By the time the driver manages to find a chance to turn around your child can probably reach safety."  There are other ways in which thinking of the reverse or the opposite can bring about good changes.  Many businesses have been successful by building on troubles seen as opportunities.  Looking at things in a different way is a skill that is taught in thinking creatively.  If a task looms over you like a mountain, see it as a big bowl of your favorite ice cream.  Do what you can to deflect, defuse, or take the sting out of things. Thinking in opposites is also a way to find the extra bit of charm to make something have that extra zing.  So, I suggest to all wise magicians: Cultivate the art of the opposite.  It lowers stress, makes for a bigger world, and brings new ideas to life.  May the spark be with you.