What I have found is that the opposite of shame is worthiness. The pathway from shame to worthiness is atonement. Atonement with those you have directly let down or injured. Atonement with yourself. If you believe so, atonement with God. I have found that atonement takes work and is not easy. I realized that I don't really have a choice. I can postpone it, delay it, or deny it, but eventually, the call to worthiness is too great to ignore.
The good news is that unfulfilled atonement is what we call guilt and it is an entirely preventable syndrome. Universalism tell me that God is alright with me, and for that matter all of us. It's up to us to decide if we're alright with him, with our friends and family, with our community. The other thing I realized is that you can't vicariously atone. You can't be alright with yourself by getting right with everyone else. You have to do that too. Probably first. People say that it's not all about you. With atonement, it actually is.
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