Easing People’s Guilt

I had to go through the struggle of walking through my past mistakes, and God helped me work through them.  No one is perfect, so sometimes we’ll say or do things that we wish we didn’t.  My response is to tell everyone not to agonize over past errors, rather  learn from them.

I also need to let you know that there is nothing wrong with having thoughts, and you don’t need to fight or strive to suppress them endlessly otherwise you will never have peace within.  If your thoughts only annoy or agitate you, I would seek a sounding board or maybe in a rant the way I showed you, such as with poetry.

God isn’t going to punish you, yet you might go through a learning process if you were an actual convict that did something destructive and perhaps refused to acknowledge wrongdoing over it.  Yet, you’re not going to die or burn in hell.   Don’t worry as God knows what being understanding and caring means, and knows your perspective perfectly as possible.  “He” will talk with you about it, and work with you from there.

Right, God knows what nice means too, so you will be fine.

Here are some things we sometimes feel guilty over, and a way to address them:

1 – Gossiping

• It’s perfectly normal to talk about your feelings for others, yet don’t lie, destroy or belittle others.  If you’ve done that in the past, walk away and don’t fret over it.  Perhaps it’s pretty common where you live, yet it’s an old habit we humans don’t need anymore.

2 – Not calling family or friends often.

• Just do what you can do.  You’re not responsible about pleasing everyone forever, and you may have other things to worry about.  Try not to miss their birthdays, especially the ones you are close to.

3 – Sexual feelings.

• For the most part, they’re perfectly normal, and not meant to be repressed.  Pope Francis will have a lady companion or companions that is.

4 – Not finishing a book.

• Don’t make reading some type of duty, unless of course it actually is a homework assignment.  Read for fun, and to keep your mind sharp.

5 – Not exercising.

• Just do what you can.  Do some light walking every now and then if you cannot tolerate those workouts.  Fitness is good for your thinking, however, and will make you feel more at ease.

6 – Exchanging gifts.

• Only if you want to.  And do them for fun.  Perhaps, buy some affordable ones online, and look for an hour or two over the weekend that is if you don’t like going out shopping.

7 – Cancelling time with friends.

• Maybe you had something else that came up?  Don’t fret over it, and you can see them again in the future when you have the time.

8 – Giving into a smoking or junk food craving.

• You can’t help it, yet try to cut back at least.  Instead, try chewing two pieces of sugar free gum and replace that when the flavour dies.

9 – Being rude.

• Perhaps you were in a bad mood?  Sometimes it happens, and don’t worry about it.  It can be a grouchy world, yet just try to hold back from behaving that way again.  I don’t want to talk to grumps all the time anyway, so hush!

10 – Ending a diet.

• Exercise if you don’t like dieting, so that way you can eat more balanced meals and lose weight.  Chew gum in between meals to help you relax, and abstain from absorbing more calories.  If you really don’t want to diet, then don’t diet.  It’s your body, so it’s your decision.

11 – Taking afternoon naps.

• Sometimes you need those, and if you’re really tired then you’re tired, so indulge.

12 – Not doing much on Sundays.

• Take a break from church, and God knows it’s not an obligation to attend Friday shuls or mosques either.  Make the weekends those cherished times for yourself, your family, especially if you work during the week.