Hold On

One of our first tee designs (which we’ve just revisited as a vest) was inspired by the Limp Bizkit track ‘Hold On’.

Recently, I’ve found myself thinking about what this really means. You see, we get told to “hold on” if we’ve got to wait for something. And so in that respect, I want you to hold on. Just wait and be patient, because you don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring. By putting yourself in the mindset that tomorrow’s going to be better, you can go to bed, leaving a bad day behind you, and start again with the mindset that it’ll be different. When you put yourself in that mindset, you’ll surprise yourself at the sort of things you find.

But if you’re anything like me, you can’t stand being told to wait, and the concept of tomorrow feels an eternity away. So maybe that’s not the message you want to take away from this.

So there’s also the concept of holding on to something. Not letting go. Some things: it’s right to let them go (that flippin’ Disney song is now echoing through my head). So let go of things that are weighing you down, and not helping you to move forward. That might be people, situations, memories and thought cycles. One of the hardest lessons I’ve ever learned (and in fact, continue to learn) is what to let go of and what to hold on to. But some things are just no good for you, so don’t be afraid to let go of them, and move on to a better chapter of your life.

It might be that you hold on to an abstract concept, like hope. When someone says “Hold on to hope” what they’re really saying is “Don’t forget that it can get better”. Don’t lose sight of that fact. Hold on to it. It can, and it will get better. I promise.

Or you can physically hold on to something or someone. Since moving over to Wales, I’ve learned the word cwtch. A cwtch is sorta like a cuddle, but more comforting. It can be between friends, between lovers, with a pet, or on your own cwtched up under a duvet, but there’s nothing quite like a good cwtch; holding on to someone or something to feel comforted, and forget about the outside world for a brief moment. So hold on to something physical.

Or hold on to something like music, art, running, writing, skateboarding, any of the stories we share through Heads Above The Waves. Hold on in the sense that you can use something creative to find hope. Let that be the thing that drives you forward and keeps you going when you feel like you’ve got nothing left. And if you don’t think you’re creative, or you struggle to feel that way, or you don’t have something like that to hold on to, then just be patient (hold on), and keep looking. You just haven’t found it yet, but you will.

As I was thinking about all this, I found myself listening to the Good Charlotte track ‘Hold On’ too (there’s a surprising number of songs called Hold On, on Spotify). But I think the chorus makes for a good coda to this blog post:

Hold on if you feel like letting go. Hold on, it gets better than you know. Don’t stop looking, you’re one step closer. Don’t stop searching, it’s not over. Hold on.

And that’s my advice to you. Hold on.

– Si