I never really thought about how I treat my own past; I always thought I was fairly positive and accepting of it in that “I don’t regret the mistakes I’ve made because it’s made me who I am” sort of way. But there are those times when I’ve said I should’ve started sooner or something like it. Maybe I haven’t been as positive and accepting of my past as I thought. Wow, this one kinda hit with me.
The string of bad luck that has hit me over the last seven years (!) has led to a lot of shame and guilt--even though, when I think about it rationally, I don't implicate myself in any of the significant things that have happened. What is that about? Why do we shame ourselves for events beyond our control? Your post has invited me to think about how that negative self-talk (excuse the overbaked jargon) has siphoned off energy I could have used for writing and other things I genuinely wanted to do. And I can say that when I'm able to clear away space to write (or cook) from a place of hopefulness, I always feel good about it. Thank you for this provoking and kind post.
I never really thought about how I treat my own past; I always thought I was fairly positive and accepting of it in that “I don’t regret the mistakes I’ve made because it’s made me who I am” sort of way. But there are those times when I’ve said I should’ve started sooner or something like it. Maybe I haven’t been as positive and accepting of my past as I thought. Wow, this one kinda hit with me.
The string of bad luck that has hit me over the last seven years (!) has led to a lot of shame and guilt--even though, when I think about it rationally, I don't implicate myself in any of the significant things that have happened. What is that about? Why do we shame ourselves for events beyond our control? Your post has invited me to think about how that negative self-talk (excuse the overbaked jargon) has siphoned off energy I could have used for writing and other things I genuinely wanted to do. And I can say that when I'm able to clear away space to write (or cook) from a place of hopefulness, I always feel good about it. Thank you for this provoking and kind post.
Shame is so sneaky isn’t it??
It really is.