The Language of Letting Go: February 8th

Letting Go of Guilt

Feeling good about ourselves is a choice. So is feeling guilty. When guilt is legitimate, it acts as a warning light, signaling that we're off course. Then its purpose is finished.

Wallowing in guilt allows others to control us. It makes us feel not good enough. It prevents us from setting boundaries and taking other healthy action to care for ourselves.

We may have learned to habitually feel guilty as an instinctive reaction to life. Now we know that we don't have to feel guilty. Even if we've done something that violates a value, extended guilt does not solve the problem; it prolongs the problem. So make an amend. Change a behavior. Then let guilt go.

Today, God, help me to become entirely ready to let go of guilt. Please take it from me, and replace it with self-love.

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation.


 *******************************************************
Guilt is basically a useless emotion. A form of self-torture and an excuse to wallow in the victim mentality.  If I feel guilty about something, how can I FIX it? What can I DO to feel good about myself and get rid of the guilt right away?

Good actions create good thoughts, not the other way around.  OA gives me a plan of ACTION to follow every day, and a set of steps to follow which help me become the person I want to be.

For today, I choose to make a behavioral change that will lead me to feel better about myself. For today, I pray to be entirely ready to let go of guilt.