Shame is according to people who have educated me, is the lowest of all the human emotions.

For those wishing to keep a scorecard, guilt is the second lowest and apathy is third from the bottom, just above grief.

Shame is that shit that society makes you feel for being yourself. Guilt is what you feel about doing something wrong.

That shit turned around in one afternoon with an A.A. sponsor named George. George is a crusty old bastard on the outside and one of the funniest men I’ve ever met once you get to know him.

George asked me. “Have you killed, raped or molested anyone.”

“No I have not.”

“Then maybe you are not as bad as you think you are.”

In closing that afternoon, George said…

“Remember, if we treated others with the same judgment we treat ourselves then we would have no friends. “

I thought about that quite a bit and came to this conclusion.

By putting ourselves at a higher standard than others is really the individual saying they are better than others. Which is ego. Let that shit go. Come down off the high horse!

I was successful in this and highly recommend this as an approach.