This morning I listened with interest as an acquaintance challenged another on the emotion of guilt. The one party was saying that guilt is a bad thing. My friend retorted that guilt is not a bad thing; guilt is a good thing. It keeps us on the path of doing the right thing.
I, too, up until this morning, have always accepted that guilt is a bad thing – but only bad because of the way I was looking at it. My friend explained that guilt for what happened in the past serves no useful purpose. Let it go. It is done and over with.
All you have now is this present moment. Guilt that occurs in the present moment leads you to do the right thing…when you might be tempted to stray off into the weeds.
Once again, I was reminded of the litmus test given to us at the conference I attended last Sunday. The speaker said, “When faced with a decision, ask yourself: “Will I be disappointed in myself if I do/don’t do it?”
You will never lie to yourself. Here’s where guilt steps in to help you…if you attempt to lie to yourself. Your subconscious speaks loudly to you, employing guilt as a tool to tug at your moral consciousness.
Interesting concept, “Guilt for what happened in the past serves no useful purpose. Let it go. It is done and over with.”
It all comes back to living in the present moment, does it not?
Budda says, “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
It is estimated that 85% or more of our disease processes is related to stress. Where does stress come from? From living in the past or the future, and it serves no useful purpose. Living anywhere but the now torpedoes our health, both mind and body, but oh my, does it take discipline to stay planted in the now.
As George Orwell states, “To see what is in front of one’s nose requires constant struggle.”
So it seems the first step to health and happiness is to stay in the now. But what about that stress thing? Might the second step be to correctly interpret what is happening in the now? Here is what Neale Donald Walsch has to say about it:
“On this day of your life, dear friend, I believe God wants you to know…
…that it sometimes looks like “one thing after the other,” but really, it is Blessing After Blessing.
I know, I know…you don’t experience it that way.
But that’s because you don’t see it that way.
In this business of life, ‘What you see is what you get.’
If you think you are looking at struggle, struggle is what you will experience.
If you decide that you are looking at a gift (even if you can’t see it clearly in this exact moment), a gift is what you will get. Just wait. You’ll see. I mean that literally. You will see.
Love, Your Friend….”
What is the bottom line of this message on this pretty little day in May?
- Live in the now.
- Use every moment in your now doing the right thing, living life to your fullest.
- Trust that everything that is happening in your now is a blessing.
Og Mandino writes, “I will forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were good or bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of my life.”
Here’s to the best day of your life. : )
