Ashamed

Ashamed: (adj) embarrassed or guilty because of one’s actions, characteristics, or associations.dictionary with letter A

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.

  1. I see what I did wrong.
  2. I see what I need to do.
  3. 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:

  1. I see what I did
  2. It’s not that bad–I’ve seen worse
  3. 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:

  1. I see what I did wrong.
  2. I don’t see how it can be forgiven.
  3. 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.

 

 

Donate Button

Thank you for enjoying Words from Dic(tionary) —  J.R. Practix

Amour

dictionary with letter A

Amour: (n) a secret or illicit love affair or lover.

I think it’s absolutely terrific that there is a dignified word and pleasant expression for a romantic encounter other than referring to it as a fling, adultery or fornication.

Even though I understand the importance of moral purity and the value of keeping oneself sexually focused, I will tell you this–we are human beings and:

  • We like to make out.
  • We like to feel that we’re wanted.
  • We certainly yearn to be desirable.

And the notion that in a moment of weakness we will not give in to our sensibility to be appreciated, and even lusted after, may not only be optimistic, but against all that makes us interesting.

Even though I have to be honest and say that sexual promiscuity comes with its own stinging barbs of retribution, I have equally found that sexual repression is also a destroyer of human beings.

So what is the right amount of sexuality in our lives to keep us balanced, involved and moving forward instead of dragging our butts on the ground in depression or feeling cheap and sleazy?

I’m happy to tell you … I don’t know.

I will say this: if I removed one ounce of amour from my life, I would be a worse jerk than I presently am, and certainly riddled with self-pity instead of purposefully using, of my own accord, self-deprecation.

I like the idea of somebody wanting me–I will not lie. Yet I have resisted the temptation to turn that into a torrid affair. But I am grateful for every human being who considered me viable enough as a potential lover to invite the possibility.,

I am not so religious that I believe that God is cranky about our glandular inclinations. And I am not so enamored by “free love” to contend that such encounters are without recompense.

Amour is necessary to us or we soon cannot fathom why love exists in the first place.

 

Donate Button

Thank you for enjoying Words from Dic(tionary) —  J.R. Practix