Day 2_I Forgive Me

Hi there! Welcome back!

Are you ready to begin?

Let's start by looking inward.

You know there are many forms of injustice as we mentioned in Day 1. You've probably been on the receiving end of a few of them.

It took us a while to realize how much injustice there is in feeling guilty. Yeah we do it to ourselves and somehow think it's what we're supposed to feel. That's not true though.

You see, guilt sinks its claws into us when we begin to believe that we should have stopped something bad that happened. We've all been there.

How much can you relate?

Sometimes bad things happen to us or to those we love, and we think we should have prevented it somehow.

That's where guilt settles in, and it messes us up.

If this applies to you, ask yourself honestly, calmly and without pressure: Do you want to stop feeling guilty?

If you said 'yes, then try something new. If you said, 'no', then consider continuing on with these steps to see where they might take you.

First, watch the Kate O'Brien clip in the video icon above. Take a look at Derrick Jaxn's clip next.

Let us know how they landed with you when you've finished. (No need to subscribe to Kate's other videos. Just continue on with these Justice steps.)

If you can relate to the message in one or both of the videos, then try this approach: Ease up on yourself about what happened.

Maybe you just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. That's not your fault.

OR maybe something happened that you think you should have had control over.
Not your fault either.

OR maybe you feel guilty that you did what you had to do to survive.
Not your fault.

OR maybe, like the rest of us, you made a bad decision you think will haunt you forever.
Not your fault.

We feel ya. Seriously, we do. That's guilt, and it's lying to you, messing with you.

You're no different than any of the rest of us. We've all done or seen or experienced things that made us get down on ourselves. Big things.

What happened happened. It wasn't your fault.

Are you willing to start the process of getting out from under it?

Begin by following Kate's advice from the first clip.

Find a mirror. Don't look at your face or stare at yourself to find your flaws.

Get really close to the mirror and simply look into your eyes. Just your eyes.

Will you do this now?

If you said yes, then return when you've finished and describe what you saw in your reflection, and what you experienced as you focused only on what you saw in your eyes.

Remember the clips yesterday from the film, 'The Shawshank Redemption'?

Guilt was the main character, Andy's, problem.

He was imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit. The only reason he didn't commit it was because someone else beat him to it. Because he had the intention, he felt guilty and ashamed.

As a first step, let go of the guilt for today. What happened....happened. It's done. It's time to move on. You still have a life to live.

Nearly all of the 8 billion people who live on our planet have done something they feel terrible about. They carry it around with them almost every day.

Most of them will say that what they did - or didn't prevent - makes them the worst of all humans. And they're wrong. We all do things we feel horrible about. All of us.

Yet there's a perspective we can't see that if we did see it, then we could let go of the guilt.

Since we all face the same struggle, be the one today to move on with the understanding that, as you do so, you give others permission to do so, too.

We'll worry about tomorrow....tomorrow.

It’s a journey. It's not a 'one and done' kind of thing.

Journeys by definition are not usually short or easy. Take all the time you need to let go completely. Just one day at a time and one step at a time until it's all in the past where it should remain. You have a present and future to focus on. You can't focus on today, much less tomorrow, if your mind is in the past.

How helpful was this step to you on a scale of 1 to 10, with (10) being most helpful?

Spend time during the next 24 hours with someone who is kind and nurturing or with someone who makes you laugh.

OR do something that helps you see the beauty all around you.

You deserve to feel happiness!

What will you do?

While you're at it, watch the full movie, 'The Shawshank Redemption'.

You may be able to stream it or check it out of the library.

Will you watch it?