Jewish Guilt
A friend recently pointed out to me that I'm suffering from a major case of unnecessary Jewish guilt. I feel guilty that others are having problems with their writing and that things (in my humble opinion) are going in the general direction I want them to. Life's not perfect. I'm still unpublished. I still have to clean my own bathroom. I'm still single. I still wake up every day and go to work.But life's pretty good.
So how did I get to the point where I feel like something's seriously wrong because nothing is wrong? I know I'm not alone here. I know other's have felt this way before.
And to make it worse? I feel guilty for acknowledging that life is pretty good. Well, again if you ignore the whole having to clean my own bathroom bit. Or the fact that UPS is all set to deliver a package on Monday that ISN'T MY PACKAGE! I've tried contacting the shippers to tell them they are sending me the wrong order, but thanks to Shabbat they aren't answering emails. Or phones (even if I called them). *sigh* And I feel horrible because it's a not-for-profit company, so they'll have to foot the bill for shipping to the wrong location.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we must be closing in on the High Holidays. Only Yom Kippur can bring about this amount of unnecessary guilt.
So Shana Tova to all of my fellow Jews. May this be a sweet and healthy new year for all. As for the rest of you? I'm ducking from the rotten tomatoes I know you're throwing my way.
Labels: holidays, Jewish musings, life, shabbat
posted by Erin @ 9:51 PM
4 Comments:
I don’t think you need to have any guilt over feeling good about how your own life is going. After all, no one has a perfect life. Regardless of if someone else is married and has a family where you’re single, or has people to come in and clean their home where you need to do your own, or is published where you are still unpublished, etc, etc, there are still imperfections in ALL of our lives, whether it’s serious health issues, financial issues, problems with extended family relations, issues at work or just within our own selves. No one is exempt from hardships in their life. But, what’s more important is HOW we deal with them. Which are we going to choose to focus on more? The good or the bad? I’m with you on choosing the good. We all have plenty of things we can complain about if we so chose. But, does the rest of the world want to hear about it when they have their own issues? Doubtful. Plus, it doesn’t do us or our situations any good to focus on something not so perfect. So, why not focus on and celebrate the positive things and the joy we’re feeling for the blessings we DO have? So we might not have everything we are striving for yet. We might not have our external ducks all in a row. But, what we do have control over is the good in our lives right NOW. And for that…whatever it may be for each of us…is something that deserves to be celebrated. So, if you are feeling happy (as I also am with my life), then enjoy that feeling to the fullest, without any hint of guilt about anyone else’s situations. After all, we are each responsible for how we choose deal with our own obstacles and issues. No one can make someone else choose what they focus on—i.e. good or bad. So, don’t feel you need to muffle your own enthusiasm for life. And this is all coming from someone very familiar with “Catholic” guilt. Carpe Diem! ☺
Christina
Then there is me, of the "Hearty Methodist handshake" stock. Don't talk about it. Ever. It's there, we all know it, but there is NO need to say those things. LOL. I kind of like to complain about anything and everything, but am truly living the good life right now. No guilt needed for any of it. And? If you'd just take the Methodist way, no one would ever know.
By the way, Miss E? Did you notice your page count is 398 out of 380? I think you shot well past your goal. :D
:-)
Just :-)
Shannon
I'm happy, too. No guilt!
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