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A Person of Truth

written by Yehudis Golshevsky | December 10, 2012

BRI’s NarrowBridge.Org sends out twice weekly inspiration providing a regular dose of hope, meaning and courage. These emails include small doses of Rebbe Nachman’s wisdom, enabling us to get through the week in a more spiritual way. 

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Rebbe Nachman of Breslov taught…

 

“To be a person of truth, be swayed neither by approval nor disapproval.
Work at not needing approval from anyone and you will be free to be who you really are.”
(The Empty Chair*, p. 78)

 

What does this mean to me?

 

What a simple statement, and what a long path it is to leave behind the concern with the opinions of others! What a beautiful way to live, free of seeking the approval of or fleeing the censure of people around me…and from the echo of their voices that can follow me even when I’m alone.

To serve G-d, I have to be willing to follow the path of Avraham the Ivri, to be the one who is “on one side of the river,” even when the entire world stands on the other bank. And to do what I know is right with my life, even if I have to stand alone. And to feel that this is the place where I truly belong.

 

A prayer:

 

Center of all existence,
help me find the way
to that sacred sanctuary
within myself,
to that precious center of my existence.
Help me discover
my place in the world—
that space where I truly belong,
that space which belongs
unconditionally to me.
Dear G-d,
I’ve wandered for so very long.
Help me find my way
home.
(From The Gentle Weapon**, p. 102)

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*“The Empty Chair: Finding Hope and Joy – Timeless Wisdom from a Hasidic Master, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov” by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, Adapted by Moshe Mykoff and The Breslov Research Institute, 1994. Permission granted by Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock, VT, www.jewishlights.com.