Guilt is unpleasant. But for those of prone to guilt, we can default there because it is familiar - unpleasant but comfortable.
So next time you feel a splash, or waterfall, of guilt, ask what is hiding under it. Sometimes the demand is for change. We feel guilty because we aren't behaving in a way that is healthy for ourselves our others. Rather than squander our precious energy on guilt, we can put our attention into examining what we want to do differently, rallying our resources, and beginning the hard work of change.
Sometimes we feel guilt because it is more familiar and comfortable than joy. We might fear that if we feel joy too fully, we will set ourselves up for disappointment, for grief over future loss. (I often dampen my sense of joy by feeling guilty for having any good in my life someone else seems to lack.) Accepting the joy and gifts of your life takes courage and open-heartedness - and actually makes you more prone to generosity and more clear about how to do actual good for others. Refusing to fully feel joy does not protect us from future loss; it only steals from the present.
Sometimes we feel guilt because we are actually on the right road for positive change but are feeling uncertain in our new patterns, and maybe fear that we may be betraying those we might leave behind. Guilt is just a price of progress.
Today, pay attention to what is hiding under guilt.