I was reading from “The Language of Letting Go” and this particular passage stood out.  As obese people we carry so much shame.  So much shame! Shame literally sucks the life out of us and there are days that it hangs over me like a dark cloud. I have lived in it for so long that it starts to feel normal and it never should.  Shame on me for feeling so much shame!  Here is what Melody Beattie says.

If we participate in shame-based behaviors such as over eating or chemical abuse, we will feel ashamed.  It’s inevitable.  We need to watch out for addictive and other compulsive behaviors because they will immerse us in shame.

Our past, and the brainwashing we may have had that imposed “original shame” upon us, may try to put shame on us.  This can happen when we’re all alone, walking through the grocery store or just quietly going about living our life.  Don’t think….Don’t feel….Don’t grow or change…Don’t be alive…Don’t live life…Be ashamed!

Be done with shame.  Attack shame.  Go to war with it.  Learn to recognize it and avoid it like the plague.

Today, I will deliberately refuse to get caught up in the shame floating around in the world.  If I cannot resist it, I will feel it, accept it, then be done with it as quickly as possible.  Help me know that it’s okay to love myself and help me to refuse to submit to shame.  If I get off course, help me learn to change shame into guilt, correct the behavior and move forward with my life in immediate self-love.

Be mindful of your thoughts.  Are they loaded with shame???  Tell shame it has been living in your head long enough…serve the eviction notice and tell shame to hit the road Jack!

ORIGINAL POST