VISUALIZE A PERSON, HANGING OFF OF A LEDGE, AND IGNORING
THEIR NEXT MOVE? JUST GOING TO “HANG” THERE? REALLY?
PERHAPS ACTION IS REQUIRED BUT FAST METHINKS LOL
Sometimes hanging on is an act of courage.
But when the danger passes and your feet reach solid ground, life asks another question:
What is your next step?
“Hey there. How are you doing today?”
“Oh, I’m hanging in there.”
That response instantly creates an image of someone clutching a horizontal bar—or perhaps the edge of a cliff.
It sounds precarious.
Risky.
Like someone enduring an attack and waiting to discover how it ends.
But the phrase can mean many things.
Sometimes “hanging in there” means:
“I am surviving.”
“I am doing everything I can.”
“I am tired, but I have not quit.”
That deserves respect.
Other times it means:
“I have become stationary and do not know what to do next.”
That deserves examination.
“Hey there. How are you doing today?”
“Oh, I’m hanging in there.”
That response instantly creates an image of someone clutching a horizontal bar—or perhaps the edge of a cliff.
It sounds precarious.
Risky.
Like someone enduring an attack and waiting to discover how it ends.
But the phrase can mean many things.
Sometimes “hanging in there” means:
“I am surviving.”
“I am doing everything I can.”
“I am tired, but I have not quit.”
That deserves respect.
Other times it means:
“I have become stationary and do not know what to do next.”
That deserves examination.
HANGING AROUND
Inaction is a peculiar dynamic.
Sometimes it displays uncertainty, doubt, fear, or a lack of direction.
But do not confuse inaction with a necessary timeout, assessment, planning, prayer, recovery, or centering oneself before moving forward.
Doing “nothing” correctly is allowed.
Rest can be purposeful.
Pausing can prevent a mistake.
Healing often looks inactive from the outside while important work continues within.
The question is whether you are recovering—or simply remaining where fear left you.
GIVING UP?
“Hanging in there” can sometimes lean toward giving up—but it is not the same thing.
A person may be wisely biding time until conditions improve.
Another may feel like a stationary target waiting for the beating or mishap to end.
LOL—not much of a life plan, but an honest description of certain days.
When you are in genuine danger or crisis, hold on and get help.
When immediate danger has passed, begin looking for stable ground.
Otherwise, you may become low-hanging fruit for the same circumstances that put you there.
TIME TO MOVE ON
While you are hanging around, a built-in dynamic may eventually arrive.
Let us call it boredom.
Restlessness.
The nudge.
The prod.
Something within begins saying:
“This cannot be all there is.”
That signal may be inviting you to let go of what no longer serves you and move toward something better.
But be careful.
Do not release the bar, land in a rut, and decide the rut is your new residence.
Once your feet reach the ground, action awaits.
So do answers.
IN-BETWEEN TIMES
Mankind is naturally designed for movement—not merely bodily movement, but learning, participation, service, creativity, inquiry, and growth.
You must eventually get going.
I am not talking about sitting in a rocking chair and rocking away.
If you are elderly and enjoying that chair—go for it!
I am talking about movement possessing purpose and meaning.
Get into the mix, flow, or pathway of life.
Live instead of merely occupying space.
The poets call it seizing the day.
Richie calls it getting up and giving life something to work with.
DOWN—BUT NOT OUT
Being down does not automatically mean being defeated.
There are times when life places us on the ground.
Illness.
Loss.
Failure.
Rejection.
Betrayal.
Exhaustion.
The ground may be where recovery begins.
Our natural posture is not permanent defeat. Human beings inquire, adapt, learn, heal, and reach again.
Down is a location.
Out is a conclusion.
Do not confuse the two.
WOUNDED, SLIGHTED, AND ABUSED
Imagine if there were no remedy for a mistake, error, miscalculation, failure, or fall.
But remedies exist.
Time.
Healing.
Support.
Forgiveness.
Learning.
Recovery.
If you are hanging in there, help may be available, on the way, or already under your nose.
Look carefully.
Sometimes help resembles another person.
Sometimes it is a professional, physician, counselor, friend, pastor, family member, program, opportunity, or truth we finally agree to accept.
THE HEAVY STUFF
When we remain objective instead of reacting impulsively, we can sometimes remove some of the heaviness from a negative episode.
“This too shall pass” does not mean the pain is imaginary.
It means the pain is not automatically permanent.
As we learn to navigate difficulty with better results, an underused phrase becomes available.
THAT COULD HAVE GONE BETTER
This is a powerful frame of mind.
It acknowledges the truth without sentencing the person.
“That could have gone better” allows us to examine what happened, learn what we can, repair what is possible, and continue.
I have laughed, stumbled, been embarrassed, ashamed, and humiliated by things I did knowingly—and a few I did without realizing what I was doing.
Then I moved on with a limp to make the point.
OUCH!
A limp is still movement.
TAKE COMFORT IN THIS
Not every hardship is personal punishment, although mistreatment and injustice are real and should not be dismissed.
Many difficulties also arise because we are human beings living among other imperfect human beings in an unpredictable world.
Acceptance of reality does not mean approving of everything that happened.
It means beginning with the truth so healing and recovery have somewhere solid to stand.
PAUSE FOR CAUSE
Ask yourself:
Am I still in survival mode because danger remains?
Am I resting because recovery is occurring?
Or am I continuing to hang on because I am afraid to take the next step?
Each answer requires a different response.
PEARLS INSIGHT
Hold on when holding on is necessary.
Rest when rest is healing.
Release what has ended.
Then place one foot somewhere new.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Life gives choices—even if, at first, the choices are very small.
Make the phone call.
Ask for help.
Stand up.
Step outside.
Apologize.
Begin again.
You do not have to leap from the cliff into tomorrow.
Find solid ground and take the next step.
And if you are still hanging in there today, hear this:
You have not failed.
You are still here.
That means the next choice is still available.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
HANGING AROUND
Inaction is a peculiar dynamic.
Sometimes it displays uncertainty, doubt, fear, or a lack of direction.
But do not confuse inaction with a necessary timeout, assessment, planning, prayer, recovery, or centering oneself before moving forward.
Doing “nothing” correctly is allowed.
Rest can be purposeful.
Pausing can prevent a mistake.
Healing often looks inactive from the outside while important work continues within.
The question is whether you are recovering—or simply remaining where fear left you.
GIVING UP?
“Hanging in there” can sometimes lean toward giving up—but it is not the same thing.
A person may be wisely biding time until conditions improve.
Another may feel like a stationary target waiting for the beating or mishap to end.
LOL—not much of a life plan, but an honest description of certain days.
When you are in genuine danger or crisis, hold on and get help.
When immediate danger has passed, begin looking for stable ground.
Otherwise, you may become low-hanging fruit for the same circumstances that put you there.
TIME TO MOVE ON
While you are hanging around, a built-in dynamic may eventually arrive.
Let us call it boredom.
Restlessness.
The nudge.
The prod.
Something within begins saying:
“This cannot be all there is.”
That signal may be inviting you to let go of what no longer serves you and move toward something better.
But be careful.
Do not release the bar, land in a rut, and decide the rut is your new residence.
Once your feet reach the ground, action awaits.
So do answers.
IN-BETWEEN TIMES
Mankind is naturally designed for movement—not merely bodily movement, but learning, participation, service, creativity, inquiry, and growth.
You must eventually get going.
I am not talking about sitting in a rocking chair and rocking away.
If you are elderly and enjoying that chair—go for it!
I am talking about movement possessing purpose and meaning.
Get into the mix, flow, or pathway of life.
Live instead of merely occupying space.
The poets call it seizing the day.
Richie calls it getting up and giving life something to work with.
DOWN—BUT NOT OUT
Being down does not automatically mean being defeated.
There are times when life places us on the ground.
Illness.
Loss.
Failure.
Rejection.
Betrayal.
Exhaustion.
The ground may be where recovery begins.
Our natural posture is not permanent defeat. Human beings inquire, adapt, learn, heal, and reach again.
Down is a location.
Out is a conclusion.
Do not confuse the two.
WOUNDED, SLIGHTED, AND ABUSED
Imagine if there were no remedy for a mistake, error, miscalculation, failure, or fall.
But remedies exist.
Time.
Healing.
Support.
Forgiveness.
Learning.
Recovery.
If you are hanging in there, help may be available, on the way, or already under your nose.
Look carefully.
Sometimes help resembles another person.
Sometimes it is a professional, physician, counselor, friend, pastor, family member, program, opportunity, or truth we finally agree to accept.
THE HEAVY STUFF
When we remain objective instead of reacting impulsively, we can sometimes remove some of the heaviness from a negative episode.
“This too shall pass” does not mean the pain is imaginary.
It means the pain is not automatically permanent.
As we learn to navigate difficulty with better results, an underused phrase becomes available.
THAT COULD HAVE GONE BETTER
This is a powerful frame of mind.
It acknowledges the truth without sentencing the person.
“That could have gone better” allows us to examine what happened, learn what we can, repair what is possible, and continue.
I have laughed, stumbled, been embarrassed, ashamed, and humiliated by things I did knowingly—and a few I did without realizing what I was doing.
Then I moved on with a limp to make the point.
OUCH!
A limp is still movement.
TAKE COMFORT IN THIS
Not every hardship is personal punishment, although mistreatment and injustice are real and should not be dismissed.
Many difficulties also arise because we are human beings living among other imperfect human beings in an unpredictable world.
Acceptance of reality does not mean approving of everything that happened.
It means beginning with the truth so healing and recovery have somewhere solid to stand.
PAUSE FOR CAUSE
Ask yourself:
Am I still in survival mode because danger remains?
Am I resting because recovery is occurring?
Or am I continuing to hang on because I am afraid to take the next step?
Each answer requires a different response.
PEARLS INSIGHT
Hold on when holding on is necessary.
Rest when rest is healing.
Release what has ended.
Then place one foot somewhere new.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Life gives choices—even if, at first, the choices are very small.
Make the phone call.
Ask for help.
Stand up.
Step outside.
Apologize.
Begin again.
You do not have to leap from the cliff into tomorrow.
Find solid ground and take the next step.
And if you are still hanging in there today, hear this:
You have not failed.
You are still here.
That means the next choice is still available.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you