Friday, July 2, 2010

Trust is the Oil

"It's easier to act your way into 
a new way of feeling 
than feeling your way into a new way of acting."
Someone shared this quote with me recently and I found it very helpful.  For me, it says that if you are not feeling quite yourself and are retreating from the things you love doing, that it might be time to face your fears and go into a situation that is difficult and just act as if everything is fine.  Before long, it will be.

"Anxiety in human life is what 
squeaking and grinding 
are in machinery that is not oiled.  
In life, trust is the oil."
Henry Ward Beecher
We've all heard of the squeaking wheel.  But isn't the squeaking wheel the one that always gets the oil?  If that were true, then anxiety would be treated very promptly.  In the quote, the anxiety is not getting the oil it needs.  Trusting and reaching for the help one needs will ultimately bring about the oil necessary to work through the problems.

4 comments:

  1. These insights into the challenges of living life are so true. Great wisdom that we need to remember and follow.
    Much love,
    M

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a very fresh way of looking at the need for trust in order to go forward.
    Also, an interesting and helpful way of expressing the important concept of "acting one's way into a new way of feeling." The 12-step programs' advice to new people is to "act as if." If we want to be successful in our goals for. . . whatever, we must develop new habits to replace old ones. Your blog helped me see this in a new way. Love, Judy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Intellectually these quotes make great sense to me - it's incorporating them into my life that is difficult - but not impossible. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I very much like the oil analogy- I have currently found this to be more true than I ever knew.

    ReplyDelete