Reproach

Reproach

"Reproach, however strong,
Redresses no wrong."
   ___ Welsh proverb


   The eternal motion of vitality, energy, and power is forever circulating in the universe; we are each part of its movement, receiving vitality, passing it through our lives and letting it pass on again. There are many ways in which can (and do) arrest this natural motion by clutching parts of the flow to ourselves. One of these ways is when we become stuck in cycles of reproach - whether we blame ourselves or others for our predicament.
   From the moment that a person tastes reproach, he ceases to live in the present moment. His whole life is caught in a web that spreads out and covers everything he touches. Not only does time cease to flow for him, but his relationships are all tainted: those who interact with him sense that their own lives are used as comparisons for the original reproach. There is no life or energy in the vicinity of a person who holds firm to that awful moment of betrayal and cannot let go.
    The first means of returning from that time-held moment into the present is by a determined releasing of reproach, with its attendant anger, resentment, and guilt. This release has to be complete without strings, unconditionally without revenge. Then can begin, the gradual rebuilding of life, with its everyday expectations, hopes, and disappointments.
   The release of reproach enables the universal motion of vitality to flow again. Like a long-dammed-up tide, vitality sweeps toward the arid shores of the soul with compassionate moisture, bringing life into perspective and rhythm once more.

"How is reproach clogging up your own life? Flush it out of your heart by letting it go with a blessing."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]