Shame is like a Fire

I recently heard someone describe their internal shame voice as: “like a fire with a constant scorce of air feeding it.”  Shame does go on and on and burns everything in its path.  It builds instead of diminishes, and it rages on and on.  It seems to be unstoppable and it is always destructive.  In the middle of it, it seems like it has a life of its own and is not at all amenable to change.  Like a big forest fire or house fire, it will eventually burn itself out.  However, it can leave a lot of destruction before it does so, and it can take a very long time.

However, if a fire is caught soon enough, in fact, the earlier the better, it is able to be diverted or stopped.  It can be transmuted.  It may appear to be uncontainable.  That is not true.

Reminder:  It may appear that shame will rage on, just as fire with a source of air.  However, there are ways to intervene on fires just as there are ways to intervene on shame.  However, it is important to use the correct tools.  If we pour water on a grease fire it is not effective.  If we pour more shame on shame it may appear to be endless.