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Health & Fitness

Guilt is a Gift - Forgiveness Part II

THE JOURNEY INTO AND OUT OF GUILT

How do people normally respond to feeling guilty over one of their actions?

How do YOU personally respond to feelings of guilt?

Some common approaches:

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  • Hide it away. Bury it.
  • Point the finger at someone else and blame another.
  • Escape in some other way – TV, drink, drugs, sex, sports, etc.
  • Become a folk singer.

All of these approaches, and others unnamed, are successful to a degree, and will be approached by people according to their personality, their temperament, their core beliefs and the status of their medical marijuana card.

Even so, I challenge us all to suspend our disbelief for a time.

What if it was held that you did nothing "wrong" or that no one around you did anything “wrong?” What if it was true that all you and others have done in life was out of a desire to fulfill some actual need, or for some sense of preservation, safety or success, whether it be self-centered or not? 

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Now, I’m not saying here that your actions don’t have negative consequences and results that you do not want. I’m not saying that your unconscious and even conscious behavior hasn’t been born out of self-interest only and therefore harmed relations and relationships. For many of us with that invisible enigma – the conscience – we are often left feeling regrets, shame and even guilt when our actions actually do harm to others or ourselves.

My main question is: what if it was held that each action you did that had negative effects was not labeled as "evil," "wrong" or "bad," but as a life experience that offered you an opportunity for two things:

  1. To learn something
  2. To give back to he/she that you have impacted

What if?

Here is my challenge to you.

  1. Find a silent place somewhere. Consider something you have ever felt guilt over.
  2. Answer: what did you learn from the experience?
  3. Answer: what did you do or what can you do to make up for the mistake or the behavior? 

If it’s appropriate to give back to another without upsetting them, then go for it. If you can do something that will help a larger collective, give that a go. Afterwards come back to yourself – in that quiet internal place – and see where that guilt resides in you now. 

I challenge us all.  If guilt resides in your soul or emotional makeup, do not fall prey to the common escape hatches. Embrace that regret and guilt … turning it into an action. That action may just be your release, as well a great gift to another person and a community needing such honorable examples.

Jim Ellis is a writer and producer who thinks guilt is a gift from the Creator, to be used in a very empowering way for all. He can be reached for all matter not related to guilt-trips at LegacyProductions.org.


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