So many things can be said in that one word. The one feeling that trumps almost any other feeling one can have.
Embarrassment.
We've all felt it. Rather it's the tear in the pants at just the right time, a class speech going badly, or maybe being caught for something you were sure would pass away smoothly and without a trace. Maybe it's someone who is around you who is particularly embarrassing you at a party or event. Maybe you're embarrassed by your country for whatever reason.
Whatever the reason may be or the circumstances may arise, we've all been embarrassed.
Embarrassment can be hard to shake off. I find myself wallowing in it for days afterward, depending on how deep the embarrassment. Generally, that deep of embarrassment is self inflicted. Avoidable, but after a long time coming, not as foreseeable.
However universal, Embarrassment also is a timeless feeling. One that has stretch through time since man was created. From Adam and Eve being embarrassed of their naked bodies, to the Pharisees constantly being shown up by Jesus.
At times, we can shrug that embarrassment off easily. By simply letting that person at the party who is -way- too into it do his thing. Or maybe I were over-sensitive when my person showed up late to a meeting. Embarrassment, in that regard, can be a demon which is under our control and can be tackled easily.
However, what about deeper embarrassments. Maybe getting caught in a lie where there are no more holes to go through and it's time to just fess up. Or maybe that person was right in that long, strenuous debate we had over a thing that, now, seems tiny and lacking in meaning. Maybe yelling at that person was an overreaction.
Then, confronting the person with an apology can go pretty far. But the waiting-for-forgiveness can be a waiting game. A game, however, that must be played.
It's okay to feel embarrassed at times. It's a natural, timeless emotion. What is done in that time of embarrassment, though, is what holds the most weight.
Embarrassment.
We've all felt it. Rather it's the tear in the pants at just the right time, a class speech going badly, or maybe being caught for something you were sure would pass away smoothly and without a trace. Maybe it's someone who is around you who is particularly embarrassing you at a party or event. Maybe you're embarrassed by your country for whatever reason.
Whatever the reason may be or the circumstances may arise, we've all been embarrassed.
Embarrassment can be hard to shake off. I find myself wallowing in it for days afterward, depending on how deep the embarrassment. Generally, that deep of embarrassment is self inflicted. Avoidable, but after a long time coming, not as foreseeable.
However universal, Embarrassment also is a timeless feeling. One that has stretch through time since man was created. From Adam and Eve being embarrassed of their naked bodies, to the Pharisees constantly being shown up by Jesus.
At times, we can shrug that embarrassment off easily. By simply letting that person at the party who is -way- too into it do his thing. Or maybe I were over-sensitive when my person showed up late to a meeting. Embarrassment, in that regard, can be a demon which is under our control and can be tackled easily.
However, what about deeper embarrassments. Maybe getting caught in a lie where there are no more holes to go through and it's time to just fess up. Or maybe that person was right in that long, strenuous debate we had over a thing that, now, seems tiny and lacking in meaning. Maybe yelling at that person was an overreaction.
Then, confronting the person with an apology can go pretty far. But the waiting-for-forgiveness can be a waiting game. A game, however, that must be played.
It's okay to feel embarrassed at times. It's a natural, timeless emotion. What is done in that time of embarrassment, though, is what holds the most weight.
"When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?" And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." --Mark 2:16-17
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