Photo by Isaac Quick on Unsplash
This is what I want to say to the emotion named Shame. I want to say “dude. This heart is under restoration. Stay off. You are not welcome here. Stop trespassing.”
I think that Shame’s favorite mode of transportation is the piggyback ride. He waits for that little heart house door to open up and then he jumps on the back of the positive emotion that’s being invited in and hitches a ride inside.
I have been noticing this lately as I have become more observant of my emotional state. I notice this when I’m opening myself up and being vulnerable and sharing my thoughts with someone. When I open up that little door to my heart, so I can share some of my heart, shame hitches a ride in. And he is really annoying. He just keeps whispering things to me like “who do you think you are? You’re nothing special. You don’t know as much as you think you do. You’re a fraud.”
Or if I open up my little heart door and give myself a pat on the back for succeeding in one of my goals (even if it’s just a small step in the right direction), Shame thinks that he can sneak in as well. He starts whispering “You’re just going to fail again. You shouldn’t praise yourself for that, it isn’t good enough. Other people do that way better than you do. I would hardly call that a success, that was nothing. You’re never going to really improve. This is just temporary.”
Or when I open up my little heart door to feel joy when someone is kind to me and I feel gratitude for them and their loving gestures of friendship. Shame just jumps on Joy’s back and lets himself in as well. He starts whispering things to me like “oh, look at that. Another person that is more loving and kind that you. Why can’t you be naturally friendly and outgoing like them?”
Enough of that, Shame. Go back to where you came from. You’re not welcome here. I can hear someone calling out to you saying “Shame, I am your father.” Guess what, it’s Satan, and he’s saying that its time for you to go home. You’ve worn out your welcome.
Photo by Daniel Cheung on Unsplash
Haha. That was a good one.
Ok, Shame is telling me that I’m not that funny and that I should stop this post now. 🙂
But seriously, this has been an interesting observation for me. I need to still be willing to open up the door to my little heart house. But I need to beware that Shame is probably hitching a ride in. Kick him out immediately.
