The Grease

During the days I commuted, sitting in traffic and looking for ways to distract myself from time ticking away, rude drivers, and long long lines of cars stretching out in front of mine, I listened to talk radio.  Mostly news and traffic updates and opinion pieces.  Forgettable, really.  Except for one interview with a self-help kind of guy who said things that sounded not too outrageous, with the exception of something about maintaining your chakras, which I didn’t know I had, and how to deal with things going badly.  He said, in that cheerful tone early risers use when they genuinely are morning people, “Say, “That’s great!'”  I couldn’t imagine anything more foolish, saying what clearly isn’t, is.  And then I tried it.

Un-great didn’t turn into great.  What did happen with this forced bit of optimism was a sort of greasing of the wheels.  New thoughts started coming.  Helpful thoughts.  Moving forward thoughts.  Thoughts about what could be seen as good about the situation that I certainly didn’t see when it happened.  So I could move forward, find solutions and not feel like the universe just shat on me.

I recommend it.  It you find yourself stuck, you’ve now got grease.  And that, my friend, is very great.

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