It occurred to me the other day, that guilt is one of the most crippling emotions out there. After all, it's nearly impossible to describe the sheer feeling of dirtiness that one can achieve from it. Luckily, I don't have to. We've all experienced it at one time or another. Not just normal guilt, like the kind we get when we cut off that damned old lady in traffic, or pirate a crappy horror film of LimeWire, just because we don't want to pay $8.99 to try and listen to the movie over the sound of some mentally disabled teenagers, or ignore the smell of the homeless person who slept in that seat last night. That guilt only lasts for scant seconds, before you're back to enjoying the spoils of your misdeeds. Rather, I'm referring to the kind of guilt that can last a lifetime. The kind that teaches a lesson by regret, even if you can never really correct your initial mistake. I'm referring to the feeling that you've truly done something wrong, possibly even more so than you'd ever thought yourself capable of. And even though you may have benefited from it in some personal way, it doesn't relieve the utter depression that comes each time you think of it. I wonder, however, if that is the case, then is guilt nothing more than the absolute most negative manifestation of a desire for self improvement? With that in mind, realize that as humans, we are all flawed. We all make mistakes. If we do not feel any guilt, no matter how small, then we are ignoring our past mistakes. This means that we can not learn from them, and thus, shall inevitably continue to be flawed. With guilt lighting the path, we are able to moe easily find the closest human equivalent of perfection. So the next time you feel guilty over something, you mustn't let the depression cripple you. Rather, you must remember that the depression is in fact a mask; a clever facade by your conscience. In essence, guilt tells us that we are despicable, yet it's very existence proves us righteous.
