I recently heard someone describe their internal shame voice as: “like a fire with a constant scorce of air feeding it.” Â Shame does go on and on and burns everything in its path. Â It builds instead of diminishes, and it rages on and on. Â It seems to be unstoppable and it is always destructive. Â In the middle of it, it seems like it has a life of its own and is not at all amenable to change. Â Like a big forest fire or house fire, it will eventually burn itself out. Â 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. Â It can be transmuted. Â It may appear to be uncontainable. Â That is not true.
Reminder: Â It may appear that shame will rage on, just as fire with a source of air. Â However, there are ways to intervene on fires just as there are ways to intervene on shame. Â However, it is important to use the correct tools. Â If we pour water on a grease fire it is not effective. Â If we pour more shame on shame it may appear to be endless.