Lemons

I read an article by Todd R. Nelson in The Christian Science Monitor about using lemons to help people recognize strength in diversity. Lemons. Lemonade. Lemon meringue pie. Lemon squares. Lemon juice and olive oil to pass gallstones. Lemons all look the same, but upon examining them closely, they each have unique identifiable characteristics. What’s the point? The point is that even though we are all humans, we each have unique, identifiable characteristics. We all look different, but inside each of us is something rare and special.

So how does that relate to dialogue in conflict situations? When we are face-to-face with another person, sometimes we only see the characteristics. Like all lemons are yellow, so we see all men as a certain way or all women as a certain way - or all Jews, or people of color or a particular religion. We respond to them according to our beliefs, rather than to the unique characteristics within them that often elude us.

So we say, “Ugh! That lemon is sour,” or “Ugh! That person is annoying.” When we add a little sugar or oil to the lemon we have lemonade or salad dressing. When we add a little compassion and consideration toward a person, we have a funny, intelligent, courageous person to count as a friend.