Forget lemons--what about when life hands you poo?

So, we've all heard the adage "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."  What if it's not lemons?  What if it's poo?  I don't think making anything from poo is going to make the situation any better.  As a matter of fact, as opposed to an end result that leaves you smelling like Pine-Sol, you'll end up dirty and smelling like...well, poo. 

There's a lot of poo out there in life, too.  And the sad thing is--we get it in all shapes and forms.  Some smells horrible and makes us nauseous.  Sometimes it's just that lingering aroma of poo that let's us know that it was here.  Either way, I have a solution for dealing with the poo in your life (it's how I deal with mine)--FLUSH IT.  Then, walk away and let the room air out. 

It's a fact of life that is negativity in the world that you just can't do anything about.  We're kind of dealing with it right now in my city.  There's a lot of people just pooing in other people's bathrooms, so to speak.  As a result, everyone is griping and complaining about the poo.  Because their bathroom is now contaminated, they are then going to other people's clean bathrooms and pooing.  Negativity breeds negativity--poo breeds poo. 

I don't mean to quote an old infomercial, but can we just "Stop the Insanity!!"  Don't poo in another person's restroom--flush the toilet in your own.  Get rid of the poo.  Make a little Pine-Sol lemonade and clean up the mess left by the other person's poo.  Let the bathroom air out.  And then, if you must, poo in your own bathroom!!  Keep it to yourself!! 

I don't mean to make light of a bad situation or of problems that we have in society (aka "poo").  I am also not suggesting that we sweep problems under the rug.  But, let's treat the source of the problem.  If you have diarrhea, you take an anti-diarrheal medicine.  If you're constipated (maybe you have some pent-up frustration and you NEED to get some stuff out), you take Ex-lax.  Clean yourself out, flush it, and move on.  Treat the problem--don't make more problems for others.  Sometimes, you just need to poo.  Poo then.  But keep it in your own restroom (or in a closed stall if it is necessary to do it in public).  Wipe, flush, clean up any mess that you may have made (God forbid), and MOVE ON.  If there's air freshener available, USE IT. 

I work with the public.  As such, I at any given time, may be called upon to clean up the poo that someone has left behind in our public restroom.  Not a pretty job, and I usually require the help of one of my very loyal and dedicated team members (as I gag quite easily in response to poo).  I don't hover over the poo and complain about it.  I don't bring others in to show them the poo.  I just flush it and ensure that the mess is cleaned up. 

Moral of the story:  If there is negativity being spread around--whether in your community, your workplace, your family, your group of friends, or even your church (let's not be naive, people, it happens)-- be the place where it stops.  Don't spread it to new people.  Don't even share it or "gossip" about it with your close friends.  Go to the source and stop the negativity.  Bring positivity (air freshener and some Pine-Sol) to the situation.  Turn the negatives into positives.  If someone needs to get something negative off their chest, let them (as long as it is productive).  Hopefully, they will feel better for getting it all out.  Then, redirect them.  Give them some hope, some faith, some love--a light at the end of their dark tunnel.  Be real with them.  Sometimes, we just can't see things the right way and needed to be given a little light. 

Okay....that's my thoughts for the day.  When life hands you poo, FLUSH IT!!