The Reflective Eclectic

How to Let Go of Resentments, Regrets, Reproaches, and Recriminations

Let me tell you about an object in my office that I use as a therapeutic tool. It looks like this:

One client aptly named it Keith’s Crock of Shit.

I think it originally came with some kind of cheese in it. Now it contains people’s shit. By that I mean the things people need to let go, lest it back them up and poison them. I’m talking about resentments, regrets, reproaches, and recriminations. All the things they need to forgive go in the crock. All that shit.

It works like this. First, you identify the thing you want to let go of. Be specific. Write it down on a Post-It note. You don’t have to write a book and the spelling doesn’t have to be just right, just as long as you know what you mean.

Next, say it out loud, that thing you want to let go of. Say, “I want to let go of …”

Now comes the tricky part. You’ve got to get your shit in the crock so it’ll stay there.

I take my job as custodian of people’s shit very seriously. I don’t want those evil things getting out so they can hurt people. For this part of the operation, I shut the windows and lock the door. That way, if anything escapes the crock, it can’t go far. I open the crock swiftly and carefully. When it’s open, it looks like this:

You can see it’s stuffed full of people’s shit from thirty-odd years of doing therapy. Some always pops out, but I scarf it up and pack it back in. Then you cram your shit in, too, and say goodbye.

I put the cover back on and we check that no one else's shit has snuck out, stuck to our clothing, or hid in a pocket. When all is safe, we unlock the door. When you leave, you leave your resentments, regrets, reproaches, and recriminations behind.

Do me a favor though. If you see your shit on the outside, when you are sitting at home, or driving around, send it back to where it belongs. Tell it to go back to the crock where it belongs.

You probably want to know if this method works. It works if you send the shit back. I’ve done my part. You have to do yours. If you see the shit walking around, whatever you do, don’t grab it and keep it all over again. What did you give it to me for, if you were just going to keep it?

Do you have some resentments, regrets, reproaches, and recriminations you need to get rid of? You can make an appointment and leave it in my crock. If you can’t make an appointment, you’ll have to create your own crock of shit. It’s easy to do, now that you know how.