Guilt
Image description: A person hiding face while others point at them
What is the positive intention of guilt? What can we learn from guilt?
Guilt often comes from one of these places:
A cue- indicating that we aren't in line with our values or how we want(ed) to show up in a particular situation. e.g. feeling guilty because you didn't study for a test and education is really important to you. That doesn't mean you are a bad person- it just means your body is telling you that you aren't in line with how you want to show up.
A legacy burden (generations of training and experiences) e.g. the concern of Jewish or Catholic guilt- which in my lived experience is definitely a thing
A learned/socialized response to being shamed/judged/policed for taking up spaces or asking for your needs. e.g. a trans person feeling guilty for correcting someone on their pronouns.
For this prompt, I want to encourage you to:
Think about a moment recently when you felt guilty about something.
See if you can identify which one (or more) of the above was the source of your guilt.
How, if at all, might this perspective shift your relationship to feelings of guilt?
