miller|cathy

a baby boomer's second life

The Sticky Fingers of Guilt

September 18, 2014 By Cathy Miller 6 Comments

Guilt postGuilt. That burrowing, rooted grasp on your soul.

Growing up Catholic, I remember debates with my Jewish friends on who held more guilt − the Jews or Catholics.

As if either of us has the exclusive rights on guilt.

Over the years, I’ve been able to loosen the hold of the sticky fingers of guilt.

I no longer have a knee-jerk dose of guilt every time I say No.

What I still struggle with is the guilt I feel when I can’t do what I want to do.

Not required to do − but  something I feel a commitment to. Like the following.

  • Creative Copy Challenge – my favorite word prompt site that I haven’t visited in weeks
  • Blooming Online Relationships – a 30-day challenge of sharing action items – of the 17 published so far, I’ve done 3

Do my cohorts at these sites care? Of course not. But does that stop the guilt? Of course not.

And here I thought I made such progress.

I should be happy. The reason I have been unable to participate is due to a ton of work projects.

As a freelance business writer and sole proprietor, that’s definitely good news.

Just try telling Guilt that.

=================

Live…Laugh…Love

Filed Under: Miller Musings

Comments

  1. Anne Wayman says

    September 18, 2014 at 5:01 pm

    Ah, and I understand the Southern Baptists have a similar problem… I don’t much… not any more… self-knowledge and the recognition of how much alike we all are has helped.

    hugs

    Reply
    • Cathy Miller says

      September 19, 2014 at 6:38 am

      I am nowhere near as bad as I was, Anne. But thing that sneaky guilt creeps in. 😉

      Reply
  2. Roy A. Ackerman, PhD, EA @ Cerebrations.biz says

    September 18, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    Guilt is the battery that drives our engines..

    Reply
    • Cathy Miller says

      September 19, 2014 at 6:39 am

      And here I thought it made us sputter, Roy. 😉

      Reply
  3. Ramiro Rodriguez says

    September 19, 2014 at 12:26 pm

    Hi Cathy,

    I’m glad you’re well. I had to read your second sentence three times! “That burrowing, rooted grasp on your soul.”

    I thought, OMG how does she know what I’ve been going through all my life. Hmmm

    Do you know any of my family? LOL

    Reply
    • Cathy Miller says

      September 19, 2014 at 1:29 pm

      Hey, Ramiro. So good to hear from you! So you share that little Guilt-thing, huh? There’s lots of us out there. LOL! 😉

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Cathy Miller Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Subscribe in a reader

Thanks for dropping by. Feel free to leave a comment. Stay updated by subscribing to the RSS feed.

Subscribe by email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Blog Categories

Creative Writing

Meet Idaho

Miller Musings

News

3-Day Walk for the Cure
(at Why 60 Miles)

Copyright © 2025 · MillerCathy.com All rights reserved.