Getting off the Guilt Trip

Last night I bought a new journal.  I spent a lot of time in the bookstore trying to decide which one to buy – did I like the cover, the size, and the feel of the pages?  All these are important to me as I spend so much time journaling.  I finally settled on a Moleskin journal, but was a little dissatisfied with the fact that the last 16 pages of the journal are detachable?  Why ever for I wondered?

I found out this morning.  A few weeks ago I attended the “I Can Do It” conference staged by the Hay House.  The speaker who most resonated with me was Sonia Choquette.  She had us dancing, singing, laughing and crying as she exhorted us to “travel at the speed of love”. I felt like I was truly flying miles high and at joy speed!

Of course I bought her book “Travelling at the Speed of Love” and have been reading and working with it ever since.  This morning, it was time to face “The Guilt Trip” chapter.    The exercise to do was this:

“Your Top Ten Worst Mistakes and Regrets:

In your notebook or on a separate pad, make a list of your top ten worst mistakes and regrets ever.  Include everything as far back as you can remember, even the names of all the people you’ve hurt with your mistakes.  Next, write down what you learned from each mistake, as well as what you would do now knowing what you know.  Write down the name of the person you hurt and ask the Universe for forgiveness.  Next, forgive yourself.  Finally, tear up your list and throw it away.  Refuse to look back or ever mention, or suffer for, these mistakes again”.

WOW!  Now I know why I needed those 16 pages to be detached.

So I started writing.  And finally finished #11 in tears.  As I ripped the pages into tiny shreds, I had to laugh – for so many of these mistakes and regrets (no longer mine I must note) happened over 30 years ago!  And I had been carrying the guilt about them all this time!  What a burden to put on myself.  I laughed even more when I realized that some of the people I believe I had caused hurt have long left this earth.  They released and let go of everything, including what I did, and I was still holding on to it.

Well, that is all finished. By writing them down I acknowledged that they existed (some I had not even been able to acknowledge to myself before this).  By reflecting on what I learned and what I would do now, I recognized and accepted that I had acted as best as I could AT THE TIME.  By noting what I would have done differently, I acknowledge how far I have come since those actions that I labeled mistakes.  And by asking the Universe for forgiveness, and forgiving myself, I have let go.  I no longer need these lesson books.  I have moved on now to a different class.  I threw away those texts this morning. I feel light now, and am truly free!

Life is too short to spend it on guilt trips.  You can come off at any time.  All you need to do is decide that you have had enough of re-living and holding on to the particular issue.  Mistakes are important: they happen to teach us things – they are the learning aids in our personal life curriculum.  Releasing mistakes allows us to move on to even bigger and better mistakes … and lessons.  It allows us to move on to the more advanced courses.  However, we cannot progress if we are on a guilt trip, as that keeps us reviewing the same chapter over and over.  I urge you to step up to the more advanced courses for your life.  Do this exercise today.  And do it as often as you need to.  I certainly plan to do it whenever I find myself on the guilt trip train!