31 Days Of I Love Myself Enough : Day 26
DAY TWENTY SIX: I LOVE MYSELF ENOUGH TO RELEASE GUILT THAT NO LONGER BELONGS TO ME
I felt guilty for so long. For so many years, I carried guilt around with me and it was exhausting.
Guilty for not being good enough.
Guilty for letting people down.
Guilty for not having enough money to buy my sons the presents they wanted.
Guilty for not being a good enough wife. A good enough mother. A good enough daughter. A good enough sister. A good enough friend.
Guilty for making some really bad decisions.
Guilty for letting myself down.
Guilty for not being what other people wanted me to be.
So much guilt.
I was carrying the weight of all these feelings around with me, constantly believing that I should have done better, been better, or somehow been more than I was.
I wanted to run away from it all but where could I run to?
And anyway, the guilt would come with me wherever I went.
Thank goodness I discovered the teachings of Louise Hay, who helped me understand that I could let go of the guilt I had been carrying for so long.
She taught me that I had been doing the best I could with the knowledge, experience and understanding I had at the time.
And that was a HUGE revelation for me!
Louise taught that guilt always seeks punishmen and when I looked honestly at my own life, I could see just how true that had been for me.
I had been punishing myself. Not just a little bit, but pretty severely.
I replayed my mistakes. I berated myself for the things I had done or hadn’t done. I held myself responsible for so many things and I allowed guilt to rob me of the peace and happiness I deserved.
But here’s what I’ve learned.
Punishing myself for my past wasn’t going to change it. It was only hurting the woman I was today.
I couldn’t go back and change the decisions I’d made, the things I’d said, or the things I wished I’d done differently.
But I could change how I treated myself.
I could take responsibility for my choices, learn from my experiences, make amends where appropriate, and choose to do things differently moving forward.
And I could do all of that without continuing to punish myself.
Releasing guilt doesn’t mean pretending we’ve never made mistakes or that our actions haven’t affected others. It means allowing ourselves to learn, grow, forgive ourselves and move forward.
It means recognising that we are human beings not perfect beings.
It means understanding that we are still worthy of love, happiness and peace, even when we’ve got things wrong.
Today, I no longer want to carry the weight of guilt for the rest of my life. I choose to take the lessons and leave the punishment behind.
I choose compassion over criticism.
I choose forgiveness over self-punishment.
I choose to stop holding the woman I was back then accountable for not knowing what the woman I am today has learned.
I am allowed to forgive myself. I am allowed to let go. I am allowed to move forward.
And so are you..
If you have been carrying guilt around with you for years, perhaps today is the day you begin to put some of that weight down.
You don’t have to keep punishing yourself to prove that you’re sorry.
You don’t have to keep suffering to make up for your mistakes.
You are allowed to learn from your past without living there.
You are allowed to give yourself the same love, compassion and understanding you so readily offer to others.
Because you, too, deserve that kindness.
Today’s affirmation:
I lovingly release all guilt from my past. I forgive myself, I learn from my experiences, and I allow myself to move forward in peace. I am doing the best I can, and I am worthy of love.
Sending you all so much love from my heart to yours 
Lynn
