Guilt and Fear
Nepean, Ontario
At Petrie Island I was strolling a trail with a young man struggling with substance abuse and the subsequent trauma that follows that. He is ridden with guilt and fear; guilt from putting his parents through so much anguish and fear of entering into weak periods where he may succumb. As he spoke about fear we noticed a tiny turtle perched on a floating log in the swampy setting. I came close to him. Out of fear he dipped into his friendly waters to freedom. It was fear that saved him.
One time our guru, Srila Prabhupada, expressed that the difficulty many of us have is the lack of fear (for maya). In other words there is a tendency to go back to our old ways. It's called addiction. It's not necessarily a bad fear. Without fear of failure we make no effort to improve. This I explained to the young fellow.
As far as guilt is concerned, well, within this trait there is a sense of regret and that is not necessarily bad for the same reason. Guilt can be the fuel to create an inner drive towards improvement. The word of caution is to not be consumed by guilt though. We can swallow little doses of it and temper it with positive spiritual outlet. Keep busy!
I
n the evening a second Anglican auditorium venue set the stage for dance, chant, and attempted trance. My young walking companion took up services and got busy with back up services at this event. He was pretty happy at the end of the day.
5 KM
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