The Narrow Straights of Unbridled Joy

One might think that freedom is just saying what you think and doing what you want.  I mean, why should relationships have rules?!  If you love me, accept me as I am.  Besides, it isn't natural to hide your true feelings — if you feel something, let it go (even if it hurts the feelings of those around you)!  Anything else would be just unnatural.

And some of us feel that way about our relationship with God.  Why all the rules??  How about instead, God can just accept me as I am, and I will accept Him, too (as long as He stays hidden and doesn't ask anything of me!).

But what if self-discipline and the art of choosing how to display our feelings were not acts of martyrdom, but instead were the doorways to realizing our highest selves?

Attached please find a Shu-Shine for the Torah portion of 'Shmini': "The Narrow Straights of Unbridled Joy".

May we all be blessed to find the delicate balance of being real and authentic, while doing so in a harnessed manner the reveals our highest selves.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu