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Charlotte Rains Dixon  

What Holds You Up?

What Holds You Up?
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I got the best horoscope ever this morning.  Here it is:

Become independent from the things that are holding you back, without abandoning the reliable things that  hold you up.

This seems more like advice for living than a horoscope, and it starting me thinking.  First, what are the things that hold me back?  Here are a few:

1.  Fear.  Isn't this the bottom line of what holds us all back?

2.  Time.  Or my perception that I don't have enough.

3.  Doubt.  All those times I lose my nerve….

4.  Guilt.  A useless emotion.

5.  Hesitancy.  Sometimes I dither when I should just do something.

As for those reliable things that prop me up, let's consider:

1.  People I love.  Ah, friends and family.  Love them even when they are pulling me away from my work.

2.  Writing.  Plain and simple.

3. Time to myself first thing in the morning.  I hate, hate, hate when I don't have time to write in my journal, ponder life, think how I want my day to go. 

4.  Creative hobbies.  Like painting, knitting, and quilting.  (Okay, I haven't yet actually done that last one, but a friend has promised to teach me.)

5.  Walking.  I've been walking for years and it is still one of the best ways to spend time I know.

6.  Being non-judgmental.  I work on this every damn day because I'm not good at it.  But I love when I can effect a curious, open attitude instead of snapping to judgment.

I'm sure I've forgotten things from both lists, so I might add to them as I go.  What about you?  What holds you back?  What props you up?

0 thoughts on “What Holds You Up?

  1. Walter

    Worry keeps me from seeing the true picture before me. Instead of being in the present, I live in the illusion of my worries. Perhaps if I realize that today is the only reality over which I can make a difference, all my worries will cease. 🙂

  2. J.D. Frost

    The first list fits me like a tee. I tried to make an acronym from it, but it needs a couple of vowels. I have more trouble identifying with the second list. I walk/run. That may help me write, when I use my walking time to plot. Quilting. My cousin has two neighborhood quilts. They are a generation old. Each neighbor made a square. My mother’s square is in the center of one. I offered my cousin what I thought was a lot of money, $1500, for it. I later learned $1500 is a pittance in the quilt world. lol. She promptly turned me down. Did I mention drifting off the subject is a hindrance to my writing?

  3. Charlotte Dixon

    Walter, Ah, worry, another good one. I’ve gotten much better about that one over the last couple of years. And yes it is an illusion!

    J.D., The jury is still out as far as quilting goes, we’ll see if I like it or not. I think quilters have a hard time charging what their work is truly worth, when you think of the hours of time that goes into it. At least your digressions are highly entertaining!

  4. Derek

    Hi Charlotte,
    It is very difficult for me to discover what is holding me up.

    For instance, at the back of my mind there’s a little voice that says each day that I should be posting to my blog, yet come what may, there’s a reluctance to do so at the moment.

    I guess I am wasting my time on prioritising my priorities. Now that is judgement for you! I am lost with it and I am lost without it! 🙂

  5. Charlotte Dixon

    Derek, I sometimes catch myself worrying about what I’m going to do next–instead of just doing it. And at the moment I am responding to blog comments instead of working on the novel rewrite. Talk about procrastination!

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