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It’s always amazing how life’s greatest lesson are always here, right under our noses.

I am sat on the train going home from London to Hove and the train has broken down.  It has been a great evening with a dear friend and the one hour train journey home can be a wonderful way to relax and catch up with some reading.

Yet it is 10.30, I am getting tired and the train is showing no signs of going anywhere.  45 minutes over schedule and even if we get moving it will be at least another 20 minutes home.  Having sat in the dark for 10 minutes without power, I don’t think I will be home in 20 mins!

BUT, when we allow it, life always conspires to bring light to a situation.  The conductor, a young likeable guy who obviously is not that long out of school, keeps walking through the train to tell us what is going on.  He doesn’t really know himself, but his earnest, sincere nature and the obvious embarrassment at the situation means that everyone in our carriage warms to him, and the banter starts.

There is a great atmosphere in the carriage.  Rather than complaining and getting angry, everyone seems to be finding the whole thing quite funny.  There is a sense of camaraderie that we are all in this together.

I personally tend to be quite loose around time, but as anyone who knows me will tell you, I can be very impatient.  The thing is that there is nothing that I or anyone else can do, and it is a great chance to write one of those opportune blog posts that my busy-ness usually prevents.

Yes, I would like to be home, but I right now – in the moment – I am really quite enjoying it!  There is nothing else to be done, nothing to worry about…

Sometimes, life will hand you lemons.  There is nothing you can do and you might not have the proverbial sugar to make lemonade, let alone the patience.  Being handed lemons can of course make you bitter or sour but where is the logic in that when there is nothing you can do about it.  So, just let go and smile about the situation.  Smile with every cell of your body.  What is the gift of the situation?  What are you getting to experience beyond your ordinary everyday experience?

Being handed lemons can jolt us out of our daily trance and give up the opportunity to see and feel some of the magic we often feel is missing.  It helps us to get present to our lives right now in the moment.  Whether lemons get made into lemonade or not, there is nothing more delicious than the present moment.

So, take a deep breath, relax and smile :)

[Afternote - I actually got home at 11.45 and was ready for bed at that point!]

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