In the great spirit of joy

Don't listen to that small voice of fear within, is something my brother usually say and my sister in law reminded me of the other day, while discussing a short movie I will participate in. They are right, of course. However, balancing on the boundaries between freedom and comfort zone is a both exciting and exhausting activity. There seems to be a confusion between what is really dangerous and what feels dangerous. Like embarrassment. When we expose our vulnerabilities to the world, through the things we really wish to accomplish, failure and shame, rather than death or injuries, seem to be the biggest risks. 

I recently watched last years movie about Florence Foster Jenkins. She was a lady who loved to sing and who was constantly protected by her husband and manager by not ever receiving the negative comments about her skills (or lack of?). Her joy doing it and her inner sense of freedom was remarkable. Her conclusion, when she started realising that not everyone was enchanted by her interpretation of The Queen of the Night Aria, was that "even though people can say she could not sing, no one can say she did not sing". And maybe that is the moral to bring into everything. The shame and the embarrassment we think will kill us, might be a good social regulation for what is appropriate when it comes to laws and regulations in a society. However, in other situations those feelings tend to stop us from expressing ourselves sincerely, dearly and in the great spirit of joy and inner freedom.