Be Still My Beating Heart

Everyone always tells us to follow our heart.  And it sounds really good, and even poetic and dreamlike, to think about living that way.  But is it really the best way? The Truth is, we all DO have a voice inside us that we should always listen to, and never, EVER ignore.  But I tend to call that our Soul-Voice, rather than our heart-voice.  We all know the Soul-Voice, although some of us -- especially grown-ups -- have gotten out of the habit of listening to it. But we all know that voice. It is the voice that tells us, even when everyone is telling us to go one way, that our path lies in another direction.  It's the voice you hear when you maybe said a cruel thing at someone else's expense; and while everyone is laughing and clapping you on the back, inside your Soul you know that you have violated the very essence of who you are.  And it is that voice that allows us to be brave, and to stand up for an underdog, or to pursue our dreams even when it makes no logical sense (freefalling into the future) -- to honor our Inner Self, even if no-one else agrees with us or supports what we are doing. Yet it is so very, very, very important not to get confused.  Because the Soul-Voice is not at all the same as the heart-voice.  And it is a little sad and ironic, because society will encourage us to follow our heart's desires, but rarely encourages us to listen to the voice of our Soul. The heart is different than the Soul.  She is passionate.  She is impulsive.  She does not think; she reacts.  She does not know; she desires.  And while the heart is the Holiest of Holy gifts from HaShem, we have to know how to speak with her.  We have to know how to listen to her cries and callings, and not get led astray by her impulsiveness. Attached please find the shu-shine for the the Torah Portion of Shlach: "Be Still My Beating Heart". May we all be blessed to be still enough to always hear the Voice of our Soul, and to process the passions of our heart through the wise filter of our intellect and the values of life we hold most dear. With Love and a Smile, ~Shu