What is Shame?

What is shame? Emotions are a hard thing to pinpoint. What may come to mind when thinking of shame can vary from person to person based on our past experiences. Our pasts define who we are and we draw remembrance of emotions from when we've felt them before. If you ask a performer to describe shame, they may say it's the moment you mess up on an act that you've performed thousands of times before, or maybe missing the opportunity to do something based on other performances. If you ask an athlete, they could describe it as the moment you're pulled from a game for making a mistake that could cost the team and being forced to sit out the rest of the game. These experiences that define shame for a person will vary with everyone you ask.

Emotions are things that are simply very personal. For me, shame is the smell of an empty locker room after the loss of a big game. Shame in the bitter taste that accompanies a burnt desert. Shame is beautiful buildings that have been abandoned and have fallen into disrepair. Shame is the sound of a silent crowd, or the laughter you aren't invited to be a part of. Shame is destructive, but necessary.

To me, shame is built into our everyday lives. If we had no shame, we would never have a basis to improve ourselves on.We need this feeling of being upset about our wrongdoings to encourage us to be better, try harder, and right our wrongs.

What is shame to you?

#Thoughts