Living with Guilt

I hurt someone very dear to me.  It wasn't intentional.  It wasn't malicious.  It wasn't premeditated.

It was clumsy, and possibly ill-conceived.  It probably shouldn't have been said at all.  The dear one and I haven't spoken since.

So, I'm living with guilt and sadness over hurting this dear friend.  And while I'm so very sorry for the hurt I've caused, for the things I said, I cannot help but wonder why guilt holds such power over me in my life.

I do or don't do things based on the level of guilt I know I will feel for doing or not doing said things.  Or, if I don't do what I know I should do, then I really get rough on myself, emotionally speaking, and that only perpetuates the cycle of guilt.  I believe that God has given us a conscience to serve as our guide when we don't necessarily know what is right or wrong.

I thought I was right.  Now I think I was wrong.  And I'm living with guilt over it all.