The conversation turned to shame this morning.
My daughter and I were talking about whether she thought she or her brother were more likely to store shame from an event.
The bigger conversation is why do we think we need to store it at all? And over so many events?
Shame piles up, creating bulkheads against healing. Separating us from ourselves.
And while there is the kind of shame the Buddha called ‘noble treasure,’ in that it can protect you from doing things you later regret,
It was never meant to make you regret yourself.
‘Use sparingly’ should be on the label.
Share your shame.
Dilute it through exposure.
Someone will say, ‘I did that too!’, or ‘You were just a kid’ or ‘It only makes me love you more.’
And you’re worn a little more smooth.
The conversation will continue over here.
Shame grows in dark silent places.
So we’ll leave the lights on too.
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