We have all done something that we regret or feel guilt about. Guilt is not a bad thing. It is an alarm going off telling us that we did something that may not have been in alignment with our value system. If we pay attention to guilt and work through it we can get to a better place – change.

The problem occurs when guilt turns into shame. Shame is the result of not dealing with our guilt. When we don’t work out our guilt we allow the thing we did to define us. With shame comes a lot of self-judgment and should statements. We start beating ourselves up.

So how do we get out of this trap?

“Never give any system the power over you to rebel or submit.” — Marshall Rosenberg 

When an entity, system or individual has authority or power and mandates something we do not agree with we appear to have only two choices: to submit or to rebel.

If we submit, we give in or give up, usually out of fear of consequences. There may be the thought that we “have to” submit, and we have no choice.

Music is universal. It can inspire, soothe, and challenge. It can speak to the soul. In many ways life is very much like music. Rob Bell believes that all human beings can hear God's song and are either in tune or out of tune with his beautiful song.

He states in his Nooma DVD series Rhythm, "The song is playing all around us all the time, the song is playing everywhere, it's written on our hearts, and everybody is playing the song. See, the question isn't whether or not you're playing a song, the question is 'Are you in tune?'"