Open Fire

This is another video (from back in my goth days) that I never got out of my mind. While it seems a little strange now, the image of the woman washing her hands deeply resonated with me because of how well it represents shame. You see her washing her hands in great anguish even though they are clean but when the camera turns to what she sees in the mirror they are covered in dirt, mud and grime. She ends up washing her hands until they bleed until finally at the end she seems to find some cleansing and healing.

"Whether or not shame is identified, it leads you to feel: I am not quite good enough. Something is lacking in me. I am not like the others. They have something I do not have. I am incomplete. I am inadequate. This feeling may be outwardly invisible. You may have great poise. You may be well educated. You may be articulate. You may be successful. You may be powerful, but inside you lives a pain that will not go away. It is the pain of living a shame-based life, of feeling, I am not adequate. A shame based identity means that you want to hide who you are. Your feeling toward others is, 'If you really knew me, if you knew what I am really like, you wouldn't like me.' Your shame causes you to live in fear of being known for who you really are." - Making Peace with Your Past ~ Tim Sledge

"Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth." Isaiah 54:4