Guilt: an emotion one feels when one thinks he/she has violated a moral standard or his/her own standards of conduct.
Of all the types and degrees of guilt, sometimes familial guilt is the strongest and deepest of all. The closer bond we have with other human beings, the deeper the guilt we feel when we think we have violated a particular code of conduct is.
Of course, one can have this feeling related to work, particularly if one is very bound to his/her career.
When we feel guilty about something, particularly if that guilt is triggered by the words or actions of another, we need to look inside ourselves and determine if that guilt is truly justified or if it is a conditioned knee-jerk reaction. In a previous discussion on reaction versus response on my old blog, we learned that we need to stop, breathe, step outside the circle and look at the whole picture in order to respond to stimuli in our environment rather than just reacting to it. We need to determine if the guilt we feel is a reaction to someone else's action or a true response to a particular situation.
Not a one of us is perfect, and because we are not perfect we will each make mistakes along the way to living our best life now.
How we deal with those mistakes is what determines how far along our path we get. If we are continually dragged down by feelings of guilt - the would have, could have, should have, but didn't thoughts and feelings - we will never see and acknowledge all that we have accomplished thus far. If we focus on one tree, we cannot see the wondrous forest in our lives.
So, as with any other feeling we feel, we need to take guilt out of its shrouded box and really examine it in the clear light of day.
Is what we feel guilty about truly something we must continue to pay penance for? Is it something that remains within our sphere of control or our sphere of influence? Why do we feel guilty?
Once we do the introspection necessary, the guilt we feel will be put in its proper perspective, and it won't stop us from living our best life now.
Next week starts a new month, and we will be discussing our overall well-being with topics such as Balance, Harmony and Sync, Coming from a Place of Enough, and Journaling.
Until then, Namaste!
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