Shame can permeate your being without your even knowing it. It might show up as anxiety, fear of being abandoned or unloved, persistent thoughts of not being good enough, constant striving to do better.
This is the kind of shame that comes from internalizing the failure of important people in your life, or the society at large, to honor your inherent right to dignity, safety, and belonging. So you adapted and because there was no choice, it’s not even a conscious response. It’s in your body. Your muscles, your viscera. That is why these negative beliefs about yourself feel so real.
Here’s a way out, a door knob, a lifting of the escape window:
Every time you notice a fear, a conviction, that you are unlovable or inherently flawed, know that it is Shame. Not truth. Put your intention instead on where in your life you feel joy… it could even be the way you feel when you pet your dog, the way the breeze caresses your face, the way you feel when a favorite song comes on.
Prioritize those moments for your attention. Focus on THAT. Again and again. Because Joy is your essence and your birthright. And you CAN find your way back that.
It is home.
