That pause? That’s where it gets intimate. Doubt pressed so close it feels like a body... pinning, breathing, not cruel, just there. Minimal, slow, lingering… the kind of stillness that knows exactly what it’s doing.
Pinned, yes... but breathing together. That kind of stillness presses skin to skin without ever crossing the line, heat held just long enough to feel chosen. Pressure as intimacy. Touch that doesn’t move because moving would break the spell.
Sorry for the late reply, Mark. I had seen this during the day, but my music consumed most of my time, so I am reading it now.
Doubt is truly that aspect of life which, once it finds a place inside us, can destroy entire lives. Whether it is a person’s economic life or domestic life, everything is affected by it. And the way you explained it in this piece, how it works, is absolutely brilliant.
Doubt lives inside us. It hides quietly in a corner of our being. But the moment we disturb it, the moment we engage with it, it begins to dominate us. Then a time comes when it either stops us from doing our work, or pushes us toward actions we should never take.
Domestic lives are often destroyed by the provocation of doubt, while economic lives are ruined by its restraint. And yet, in certain situations, doubt also warns us of danger. When a venture ends in loss, the person who stepped back often says, “I knew it. I had a doubt from the beginning that this would lead to loss.”
Doubt, however, is not always an enemy. When practiced consciously and in a positive way, it can sharpen judgment, protect us from harm, and become a tool rather than a trap. A truly beautiful and powerful subject.
Dawnithic — thank you for taking the time to come back to it, especially after a full day of music. I really appreciate how attentively you read this.
What you say about doubt being neither purely destructive nor purely protective feels important. I wasn’t trying to make it an enemy or a guide — more to notice what happens when it’s already present, already influencing posture and pace, before we’ve decided what to call it.
I’m glad the piece gave you space to think about that tension, rather than resolving it one way or the other.
Thank you as always for such a thoughtful and deeply resonant reflection.
Yes, maybe I missed that point. But what I said is essentially the same as what you mentioned in your writing...that doubt stays with us, it urges us on, and then holds us back. Perhaps I overlooked the special aspect of your writing, and for that, I apologize.
This moved me. I love how it reads like a dance with doubt—sometimes leading, sometimes following, always insisting on being noticed. By the end, it’s less a shadow and more a partner you can’t quite stop moving with… or against.
Exactly — it’s the kind of dance where you’re spectacularly tripping together, and somehow it still feels graceful. I’ve accepted that my dance card now includes doubt as a permanent partner, missteps are the best part of the choreography. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“They stay.
Still.
You.”
That pause? That’s where it gets intimate. Doubt pressed so close it feels like a body... pinning, breathing, not cruel, just there. Minimal, slow, lingering… the kind of stillness that knows exactly what it’s doing.
Exactly that Asuaka ~!
The pause is doing the touching.
It’s not absence or hesitation, it’s pressure.
Something choosing not to move because moving would break the closeness.
I love how you name it as there rather than cruel.
That kind of stillness isn’t passive — it’s deliberate, intimate, almost consensual in how it holds.
Pinned, yes — but also witnessed.
Pinned, yes... but breathing together. That kind of stillness presses skin to skin without ever crossing the line, heat held just long enough to feel chosen. Pressure as intimacy. Touch that doesn’t move because moving would break the spell.
Yes 💛 😊 💛
Sorry for the late reply, Mark. I had seen this during the day, but my music consumed most of my time, so I am reading it now.
Doubt is truly that aspect of life which, once it finds a place inside us, can destroy entire lives. Whether it is a person’s economic life or domestic life, everything is affected by it. And the way you explained it in this piece, how it works, is absolutely brilliant.
Doubt lives inside us. It hides quietly in a corner of our being. But the moment we disturb it, the moment we engage with it, it begins to dominate us. Then a time comes when it either stops us from doing our work, or pushes us toward actions we should never take.
Domestic lives are often destroyed by the provocation of doubt, while economic lives are ruined by its restraint. And yet, in certain situations, doubt also warns us of danger. When a venture ends in loss, the person who stepped back often says, “I knew it. I had a doubt from the beginning that this would lead to loss.”
Doubt, however, is not always an enemy. When practiced consciously and in a positive way, it can sharpen judgment, protect us from harm, and become a tool rather than a trap. A truly beautiful and powerful subject.
Dawnithic — thank you for taking the time to come back to it, especially after a full day of music. I really appreciate how attentively you read this.
What you say about doubt being neither purely destructive nor purely protective feels important. I wasn’t trying to make it an enemy or a guide — more to notice what happens when it’s already present, already influencing posture and pace, before we’ve decided what to call it.
I’m glad the piece gave you space to think about that tension, rather than resolving it one way or the other.
Thank you as always for such a thoughtful and deeply resonant reflection.
Yes, maybe I missed that point. But what I said is essentially the same as what you mentioned in your writing...that doubt stays with us, it urges us on, and then holds us back. Perhaps I overlooked the special aspect of your writing, and for that, I apologize.
Ohh nothing to apologise for at all 😊
Doubt is a very interesting subject with lots of perspectives and also personal frames to consider.
It's also something we all face, from clicking that Post button to making potentially life changing decisions.
You did much with four sentences. Was it three? I can't count.
Ha HVR
Was humming the song It Takes Two Baby but that's wrong 😄
This moved me. I love how it reads like a dance with doubt—sometimes leading, sometimes following, always insisting on being noticed. By the end, it’s less a shadow and more a partner you can’t quite stop moving with… or against.
Dipti, thank you so much.
I love that you named it as a dance, especially the part about not quite knowing who’s leading.
That feels right to me — the sense of movement without a settled agreement.
I’m really glad it stays with you rather than resolving itself.
Exactly — it’s the kind of dance where you’re spectacularly tripping together, and somehow it still feels graceful. I’ve accepted that my dance card now includes doubt as a permanent partner, missteps are the best part of the choreography. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sounds like a perfect dance 😊