Shame, it seems, has become a homonym, a word spelled and pronounced the same, but with two different meanings.
Many today regard shame as a negative emotion, a tag of accusation imposed by others or by ourselves for our faults and failures, with damaging psychological consequences.
In her book “Daring Greatly,” author Brené Brown defines shame as “the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love or belonging.” During her research, she asked people for examples of shame. A few responses were “Shame is bankruptcy,” “Shame is my husband leaving me for my next-door neighbor,” and “Shame is my DUI.”…