Hang in There

  

“Hang in there,” is a strange expression for me.

Long ago I worked at the help desk of a computer lab.

I had frequent contact with graduate students.

I asked how they were doing.

I was especially concerned during finals week.

Often the reply was “At least I am hanging in there.”

If I knew the person well I might ask, “What if you let go?”

Sometimes the reply was a panicky, “I cannot do that.”

Then my closest friends I asked, “What if you let go for just one minute.”

That was not an option to even consider for most of them.

The conventional advice for a person passing through a crisis is to “Hang in there.”

What I ask is the following:

What are they hanging on to?

Where is “in there”?

What if they let go for one minute?

Somehow this is a mental and emotional image.

There may be some spiritual layer too.

Hanging in there seems stressful.

Constantly hanging in there will lead to fatigue.

Where is peace?

Where is safety?

Where is security?

I know this is just a figure of speech.

But it is used during periods of times of tension, anxiety and pressure.

Then the stress needs to be decreased not sanctioned.