Home > Topic > unworthiness
1 " The deeper the feelings of unworthiness dug into his heart, the darker the room became. It spread from the outside in, growing darker and moreominous with each new thought. He feared it would swallow him whole. "
2 " To come devotedly into the depths of a subject, your respect for it increasing in every step and your whole heart weakening apart with shame upon yourself in your dealing with it : To know at length better and better and at length into the bottom of your soul your unworthiness of it : Let me hope in any case that it is something to have begun to learn. "
― James Agee , Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
3 " Pity, if one can generalize, is at the bottom of woman. When men like us, it is for our better qualities, and however tender their liking, we dare not be unworthy of it, or they will quietly let us go. But unworthiness stimulates woman. It brings out her deeper nature, for good or for evil. "
― E.M. Forster , Howards End
4 " Wherever the responsibility lies, shame creates a solid and terrible feeling of unworthiness that resides in our bodies: the storehouse of the memories of our acts, real or imagined, and the secrets we keep about them. "
― Sharon Salzberg , Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection
5 " Feelings and stories of unworthiness and shame are perhaps the most binding element in the trance of fear. When we believe something is wrong with us, we are convinced we are in danger. Our shame fuels ongoing fear, and our fear fuels more shame. The very fact that we feel fear seems to prove that we are broken or incapable. When we are trapped in trance, being fearful and bad seem to define who we are. The anxiety in our body, the stories, the ways we make excuses, withdraw or lash out—these become to us the self that is most real. "
― Tara Brach
6 " A sinner’s humanity will cause him to fall from grace again and again, but his human pride, ego, or feeling of unworthiness should not prevent him from seeking God’s forgiveness again and again. "
7 " Christ came into the world to save sinners, not good people, and your unworthiness is your greatest claim for His salvation. "
8 " Okay listen, you think I'm so inconsequential? Then try this on for size. All those who see unworthiness when they look at me and are given thereby to denying me value - to you I say, I'm not talking about being AS GOOD as you. I hereby declare myself BETTER than you. "
9 " One of the many burdens of the person professing Christianity has always been the odium likely to be heaped upon him by fellow Christians quick to smell out, denounce and punish fraud, hypocrisy and general unworthiness among those who assert the faith. In ruder days, disputes about what constituted a fully qualified Christian often led to sordid quarrels in which the disputants tortured, burned and hanged each other in the conviction that torture, burning and hanging were Christian things to do… "
― Russell Baker
10 " Fear comes from uncertainty. When we are absolutely certain whether of our worth or worthlessness we are almost impervious to fear. Thus a feeling of utter unworthiness can be a source of courage. "
11 " Positive thoughts (joy happiness fulfillment achievement worthiness) have positive results (enthusiasm calm well-being ease energy love). - Negative thoughts (judgment unworthiness mistrust resentment fear) produce negative results (tension anxiety alienation anger fatigue). "
