<![CDATA[Loving Lemons]]>“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Great advice, unless you’ve lived long enough to know that not every hardship can be transformed into something sweet. Some things get better and some things become part of the life you have to keep living. And that changes the conversation about, well, everything.

This warm, emotionally intelligent show explores it all, but through the lens of people who are learning to build meaningful and peaceful lives around circumstances that may never change.

Hosted by pharmacist and therapist, Dr. Lisa Peña, this is not a self-help podcast. We don't need more advice for an imaginary perfect life. We need better conversations about the lives we're actually living.

Welcome to Loving Lemons.

Full Episodes every Tuesday and 10 min Lemon Slice Episodes every Friday. Subscribe, Follow, and Join the community on the Loving Lemons Substack.

]]>https://riverside.comRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Fri, 11 Sep 2026 05:08:21 GMTTue, 18 Aug 2026 16:39:02 GMT60Dr. Lisa Peña<p>“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Great advice, unless you’ve lived long enough to know that not every hardship can be transformed into something sweet. Some things get better and some things become part of the life you have to keep living. And that changes the conversation about, well, everything.</p><p></p><p>This warm, emotionally intelligent show explores it all, but through the lens of people who are learning to build meaningful and peaceful lives around circumstances that may never change.</p><p></p><p>Hosted by pharmacist and therapist, Dr. Lisa Peña, this is not a self-help podcast. We don't need more advice for an imaginary perfect life. We need better conversations about the lives we're actually living.</p><p></p><p>Welcome to Loving Lemons.</p><p></p><p>Full Episodes every Tuesday and 10 min Lemon Slice Episodes every Friday. Subscribe, Follow, and Join the community on the Loving Lemons Substack.</p>episodicDr. Lisa Peñadrlisapena5@gmail.comno<![CDATA[Episode 5 - The Good. The Bad. The Neutral.]]>What if we didn’t have to decide so quickly what everything means?

Good. Bad. Success. Failure. Blessing. Disaster. Our brains love a verdict—but sometimes we’re making one before the story is finished.

In this episode of Loving Lemons, Lisa explores the surprising freedom of neutrality: leaving space between what happens and the meaning we assign to it. Neutrality isn’t pretending painful things aren’t painful. It’s learning to leave the file open a little longer.

]]>d518d074-a05f-4848-b665-15b48a832a52Tue, 08 Sep 2026 10:00:00 GMT<p>What if we didn’t have to decide so quickly what everything means?</p><p>Good. Bad. Success. Failure. Blessing. Disaster. Our brains love a verdict—but sometimes we’re making one before the story is finished.</p><p>In this episode of <i>Loving Lemons</i>, Lisa explores the surprising freedom of neutrality: leaving space between what happens and the meaning we assign to it. Neutrality isn’t pretending painful things aren’t painful. It’s learning to leave the file open a little longer.</p><p></p>no00:28:29Episode 5 - The Good. The Bad. The Neutral.full<![CDATA[Episode 4 - Let it RAIN]]>What do you do when a hard feeling shows up and you can’t make it go away?

In this week's Lemon Slice, Lisa walks listeners through the RAIN practice. A simple prayer or meditation for moments of anxiety, anger, fear, jealousy, or overwhelm.

The goal isn’t to make the feeling disappear. It’s to notice it without judgment and be curious about what it might be revealing. 

]]>6b7d96b6-bc2d-424e-a17a-5e9dc2852ac3Fri, 04 Sep 2026 10:00:00 GMT<p>What do you do when a hard feeling shows up and you can’t make it go away?</p><p>In this week's Lemon Slice, Lisa walks listeners through the <b>RAIN </b>practice. A simple prayer or meditation for moments of anxiety, anger, fear, jealousy, or overwhelm.</p><p>The goal isn’t to make the feeling disappear. It’s to notice it without judgment and be curious about what it might be revealing. </p>no00:10:52Episode 4 - Let it RAINfull<![CDATA[Episode 3 - Abandoning Hope]]>What if hope isn’t always helping us?

In this episode of Loving Lemons, Lisa explores Pema Chödrön’s provocative teaching to “abandon any hope of fruition” not as an invitation to give up, but as a way to stop requiring tomorrow to rescue us from today.

We’ll talk about the difference between hope and acceptance, how waiting for circumstances to change can keep us from fully inhabiting our lives, and what it means to say: This is here. And I’m here too. Now what?

]]>621357fc-aa57-4ffe-abab-fb806ce58d61Tue, 01 Sep 2026 10:00:00 GMT<p>What if hope isn’t always helping us?</p><p>In this episode of <i>Loving Lemons</i>, Lisa explores Pema Chödrön’s provocative teaching to “abandon any hope of fruition” not as an invitation to give up, but as a way to stop requiring tomorrow to rescue us from today.</p><p>We’ll talk about the difference between hope and acceptance, how waiting for circumstances to change can keep us from fully inhabiting our lives, and what it means to say: <b>This is here. And I’m here too. Now what?</b></p>no00:22:53Episode 3 - Abandoning Hopefull<![CDATA[Episode 2 - Matrescence Beyond the Expected]]>Welcome to the first Lemon Slice episode. These are quick 10 min episodes that go live every Friday.

What happens to matrescence when motherhood doesn’t follow the expected path? In this follow-up episode, we expand the conversation to mothers whose babies die during pregnancy or at birth, and mothers of children with significant disabilities whose caregiving may continue for a lifetime. What happens when your body and identity begin preparing for a baby you never get to bring home? And what happens when the intense dependency of early motherhood doesn’t gradually lessen as your child grows? Motherhood doesn’t require a typical story to transform you. And every mother deserves language for what happened to her.

]]>32120f7b-42af-442d-af33-ae4a8e5bf5a8Wed, 19 Aug 2026 17:14:19 GMT<p>Welcome to the first Lemon Slice episode. These are quick 10 min episodes that go live every Friday. </p><p></p><p>What happens to matrescence when motherhood doesn’t follow the expected path? In this follow-up episode, we expand the conversation to mothers whose babies die during pregnancy or at birth, and mothers of children with significant disabilities whose caregiving may continue for a lifetime. What happens when your body and identity begin preparing for a baby you never get to bring home? And what happens when the intense dependency of early motherhood doesn’t gradually lessen as your child grows? Motherhood doesn’t require a typical story to transform you. And every mother deserves language for what happened to her.</p>no00:11:46Episode 2 - Matrescence Beyond the Expectedfull<![CDATA[Episode 1 - Matrescence]]>“I just don’t feel like myself anymore.” If you’ve ever said those words after becoming a mother, this episode is for you. If you love someone who is a mother or becoming a mother, this is also for you. We’re talking about matrescence, the profound physical, psychological, social, and identity transformation that happens when a woman becomes a mother. We’ll explore the surprising history of the term, what research tells us about changes in the maternal brain, and why motherhood may be less about “getting back to yourself” and more about becoming someone new.

]]>e99ada97-7212-4fa3-bf6d-32afaed2a3b7Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:02:58 GMT<p>“I just don’t feel like myself anymore.” If you’ve ever said those words after becoming a mother, this episode is for you. If you love someone who is a mother or becoming a mother, this is also for you. We’re talking about matrescence, the profound physical, psychological, social, and identity transformation that happens when a woman becomes a mother. We’ll explore the surprising history of the term, what research tells us about changes in the maternal brain, and why motherhood may be less about “getting back to yourself” and more about becoming someone new.</p>no00:24:27Episode 1 - Matrescencefull<![CDATA[Welcome]]>Meet Lisa, hear the story behind the name Loving Lemons, and discover why “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” doesn't always hold up when life gives you something that can't be changed. Come find out why Lisa believes we don't need more advice for an imaginary perfect life. We need better conversations about the lives we're actually living.

Welcome to Loving Lemons.

]]>4ba43251-9162-4718-a7d9-ca82e043f1b2Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:13:05 GMT<p>Meet Lisa, hear the story behind the name Loving Lemons, and discover why “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” doesn't always hold up when life gives you something that can't be changed. Come find out why Lisa believes we don't need more advice for an imaginary perfect life. We need better conversations about the lives we're actually living.</p><p>Welcome to Loving Lemons.</p>no00:06:28Welcometrailer