Ashamed: (adj) embarrassed or guilty because of one’s actions, characteristics, or associations.
There are two “rest areas” that people often stop off in on their way to completing the journey to repentance.
Repentance is easy–maybe not to accomplish, but certainly to understand.
- I see what I did wrong.
- I see what I need to do.
- I see how to start.
It is the essence of what makes human beings believe in and strive towards the divine instead of settling for the devilish.
Now, back to those two stop-offs:
One of the stop-offs is called arrogance, and once people stall there, they tend to stay. Arrogance is:
- I see what I did
- It’s not that bad–I’ve seen worse
- No one’s going to force me to change.
But equally as debilitating and ignorant is the stop-off of being ashamed, because rather than being a stepping-stone to solution, it is an egregious ceasing of progress–and ends up being poorly disguised self-pity.
It has three parts as well:
- I see what I did wrong.
- I don’t see how it can be forgiven.
- So I am going to choose not to do very much.
I am convinced that once people become arrogant, they unwittingly also become a repellent to other human beings.
And I am equally as convinced that people who choose to be ashamed end up being the victims of nasty fellows.
Without making the full journey to repentance, we end up stuck in one of these rest areas … which usually end up smelling pretty crappy.
Thank you for enjoying Words from Dic(tionary) — J.R. Practix