Guilt

This emotion may take more than one post. This emotion is the truly causal root of all things anger. Guilt is a combination of sadness and fear on steroids. It's saying to ourselves, on some level, not only am I sad I did that, but now someone is gonna come get me and punish me. Sadness and Fear make a baby.

Some people are making this distinction between guilt and shame. Namely, Brene Brown. Now, this is an improvement over the other interpretations where guilt, shame, etc. meant you should wallow in self-loathing just to make extra sure you didn't do "it" again. Enter: drug addiction, sexual deviation, suicidal depression and so on. The guilt of yore was to be a safeguard against humans wreaking havoc on other humans. Except, it didn't really work. It turned into a high-functioning form of mental insanity. And shame---well, shame----was really where we went off the path and started ruining perfectly good humans as a form of insurance to keep this plight from our own front doors.

Back to guilt. I will do more than one post on guilt. Because guilt is the anger that is fueling our 'isms." You know the ones: Racism, sexism, ageism, etc. The ones who first used the less-powerful, the ones who first saw advantage and took advantage---these are the ones who now have GUILT on a global level and its absolutely killing us all. Quite literally in some cases.

For now, I'd like to provide this possibility: Feeling guilty does not erase the wrong-doing. Feeling guilty only creates such an internal discomfort that to get relief, to carry on in the day to day, you must PROJECT it--throw it outward---to continue. And that creates the symptom of anger. That THRUST, that throwing outward is the stuff of 'isms, and riots and rape and wars.

So, for now, let us all digest this reality. Chew on this new knowledge. Consider that guilt is one of the most harmful emotions of all. Prepare yourself and your psyche for something different. Something better.