Just Do It!

One of the last adverts that I saw – that I actually liked – was the ‘Belly’s gonna get ya’ advert from around four or five years ago. Now that I come to describe it, the ad was dumb in the extreme: a man is running around his neighbourhood, in his Nikes, trying to get away from a enormous beer belly that is chasing him down, as the voiceover booms out: ‘Belly’s gonna get ya!”
 
Subtle, it wasn’t. But I liked it, because it was quite amusing, and because it was actually far more honest than a lot of adverts.
 
It wasn’t telling me to exercise so that I’d be fitter; live longer; feel better (that stuff just doesn’t really work, does it?) It was pushing the only button that’s still connected in this superficial, looks-obsessed generation: exercise, because if you don’t exercise, you’ll get fat. And it goes without saying that being ‘fat’ is about the most terrible thing that most people can imagine these days.
 
I was thinking about that ad recently, because I was wondering how so many people can know what’s ‘good for them’ – and still completely ignore it and even continue to do the opposite.
 
“Carrots are healthy – but French fries are soooo delicious.” “I should go for a jog – but the armchair is soooo comfortable.” “I should talk to G-d – but the trashy novel I’m reading is soooo exciting…” etc etc etc.
 
I know, I know, it’s our free choice. It’s our evil inclination. It’s the ongoing fight that each and every one of us has every day. But sometimes, it’s very frustrating, especially when you are watching people you love dearly get even more stuck in their problems, and even more overwhelmed and depressed by their suffering.
 
‘Depression’s gonna get ya!’ ‘Bitterness of spirit is gonna get ya!’ ‘Even more terrible problems are gonna get ya!’ (G-d forbid). But instead of reading more emuna books, listening to more emuna CDs and making more time to talk to G-d, people just sit there on their sofas, waiting for it all to hit them.
 
Recently, I had the privilege of teaching a shiur on the English translation of ‘Women’s Wisdom’, Rav Arush’s book for women on maintaining peace in the home.
 
I’ve read the book a few times, in a couple of different languages, so I thought I knew it really well already. But when I started to go through it again, with a view to unpicking the concepts and teaching them over, I was astounded by just how much wisdom each and every paragraph contained.
 
Initially, I thought I could cover the whole book in eight weeks – with a lot of padding from other Rav Arush books. Boy, was I wrong. We could have spent eight weeks on each chapter.
 
And the ideas it had in it were mind-boggling; astounding; completely life-changing.
 
Every week, I’d re-learn some amazing concept, and I’d do my best to start applying it in my own life. One week, it would be ‘focussing on the good’ and ‘catching’ my husband and kids doing all the good stuff that they do all the time, but which I usually just take for granted.
 
Another week, we’d be discussing how to fill our homes with love for our kids; or how to be happy with our lot; or how to deal with issues with the children. And each time, I’d ask G-d to help me really apply the ideas we were learning to my own life – and I’d see concrete, dramatic improvements.
 
I had several ‘wow’ moments. Wow! This stuff really works! Wow! I feel so much better! Wow! It’s making my life so much happier and easier…
 
And you know what? Each time I’ve taken the advice contained in one of Rav Arush’s books, the same thing has happened. When I was struggling and seriously depressed, I took the advice to turn to G-d for help and to start trying to talk to Him every day – and I haven’t been really depressed for more than four years now, thank G-d.
 
When I was feeling so miserable about not having more kids, I took the advice to thank G-d for the very thing that was hurting me so much – and very quickly, ‘happy’ started to come back into my life.
 
When we were struggling financially, I took the advice to start paying a chomesh, or a fifth of our income, to charity, and recently, it’s been easier going than it has been in years.
 
When my kids were having severe ‘homework’ issues, I talked to G-d about it – and they resolved in a matter in days. When I was facing my own massive internal struggles, I followed the advice of Rav Arush and Rebbe Nachman, and I came through the whole experience a) in one piece and b) much calmer and happier than before.
 
Breslev chassidut has a piece of relevant advice for every single circumstance, and the more I try to follow the advice, the more I see it really, truly works. Rebbe Nachman, Rav Arush, Rav Brody – they really know what they are talking about.
 
If people would only try and do what they are being told, they would see miracle after miracle – and all their suffering and uncertainty would be replaced by peace of mind and clarity.
 
I know it’s hard. The sofa is calling to you; the latest episode of ‘Nip: Tuck’ is calling to you; Facebook is calling you – but none of those things are going to help you live a happier, healthier, more peaceful life. None of those things really ‘work’ to make you feel better, do they?
 
But we don’t need to sit there and brood and worry that: ‘trouble’s gonna get ya!’ ‘The recession’s gonna get ya!’ ‘Iran’s nukes are gonna get ya!’ (G-d forbid).
 
If you want the recipe for a great life, it’s really as simple as this:
 
Pick up a Garden of Emuna; a Women’s Wisdom; an In Forest Fieldsor other Breslev book.
 
Read it.
 
Whatever it tells you to do, just do it.
 
And if you do, I guarantee ‘Breslev chassidut’s gonna get ya!’