I. The Lemonade Master

“Life has continually given you lemons but you just keep making lemonade. You’re like a Lemonade Master” Michael Hax

Michael said this to me in a brief phone call we had a couple of weeks ago. It meant a lot coming from him, to know that he knows me that well. We have a unique relationship.

That sentiment had been expressed numerous times, by numerous people throughout my life. It sums up quite nicely the attitude I have towards life in general. It is a talent, a gift or simply a tool I developed to cope with the sometimes extraordinary or seemingly tragic circumstances of my life. Either way, I always find the silver lining to every dark cloud. Even when its not in the forefront of my thinking, I know eventually it is where all trains of thought and experience will lead.

Some might describe this as on example of the Pollyanna principle.

 {The tendency for people to remember pleasant items more accurately than unpleasant ones.} 

I know that to be a part of my process but I’ll not deny the negative aspect of an event for that would be missing out on half the experience. I embrace and fully feel the obstacles and pitfalls of life. It is in the contrast that I truly have the opportunity to know myself and for me, that is what life is all about.

“Be a light unto the darkness and curse it not for it is only in the darkness that  you might know yourself for what you truly are, the light.” C

I have certainly experienced my fair share of darkness and by the same token have known myself as the light because of it. No one would have blamed me had I chosen to deny the light. Life had given me every reason to choose the path of darkness since the moment of my conception. I chose a different path and continue to do so.

I  have done my fair share of stumbling around in the darkness and at times could see no glimmer of light whatsoever. In those moments I acknowledge an underling force that connects and guides us all back into the light if we choose to be guided.

Disclaimer: I am not a religious person, although that identity has been a part of my life at times. I am however a very spiritual person and truly believe everything is connected and happens for a reason. Sometimes the opportunity is simply to discover that reason and then embrace or experience it. I’ll be touching on this concept often in my musings.

So, who is Michael Hax and whats so unique about our relationship?

Michael is my younger brother. We are both in our 50’s, married with families and longtime careers. Nothing really unique about that until you consider I didn’t know Michael existed until about a year and a half ago and he didn’t know I existed until 8 months ago. Discovering him was one of the most significant events of my life. Michael and his family discovering me, topped that.

The phone chat we had where he called me ‘Lemonade Master” was due to a call he had just had with one of our cousins, Bill, whom had just become aware of my existence that day. He was describing me and had used that descriptor. I knew immediately It was the theme of the blog I had been contemplating.

Ancestry.com changed the trajectory of my life. I did the test for only one purpose. To learn about my ethnicity as I knew I had not been raised in my biological family. I didn’t really understand what spitting into the little tube could reveal.

I had no idea it would expose deceptions and bring about revelations, both sad and glorious. It brought about clarity, confusion and resolution. My only regret was not doing it sooner…just a few months would have made such a difference..but then again, everything happens for a reason, when it happens.

Sometimes that is easier to accept than at other times. I still occasionally shift my gaze upward…”really, that’s how this is going to play out?”

I talk to God, myself, the universe or whom or whatever I might imagine is listening, quite often. The answer is in the unfolding of my life, the next song I hear, phone call I receive, a sunset, thunderstorm or rainbow. I just need to pay attention…or not. Life unfolds regardless.

This blog is about a boy who grew up in a family that was not his own, but he wouldn’t know this for the first 20 years of his life. He grew to be a man and along the way he had adventures, heartache, triumph and despair.

He keeps going, pulled forward by an unseen force that connects us all. He chooses to see the miraculous in a world some would deem tragic or merely coincidental.

He is learning to live life on his own terms with gratitude for himself and those he encounters. He knows forgiveness is one of the most powerful forces one can master. He believes empathy is the source of all personal morality.

He wants to share his quest because he knows there are many others out there like him and they need to be recognized on their path to mastery.

So take a seat under the shade of the lemon tree while I tell you a story…

‘The Lemonade Master’