Freedom from Distraction

Within our lifetimes the world has become a new place. Gone are the days where your ability to provide for your family was dependent on your physical strength. Communications technology has made information the biggest determinant of our financial success. Where strength and stamina were the tickets to advancement in life just a century ago, our ability to process information is the "key to all doors" today.
 
As time inches closer and closer to the days of Redemption, more than ever — one of the most precious possessions we have in this world is wisdom.
 
We can easily mistake wisdom with knowledge. Knowledge is something you acquire. What is IBM trading at? Who was the 9^th Prime Minister of Israel? What are the basic components of a microchip and how do you make one?
 
Many opportunities lie in the acquisition of knowledge. However, where knowledge can make a person smart it doesn't necessarily make him wise. Knowledge and wisdom are two separate things.
 
Knowledge is something we acquire, wisdom is something we become. Knowledge can go as deep as the mind, wisdom emanates from the soul.
 
The greatest levels of knowledge can be attained when we burn the midnight oil reading a technical manual, a book, or a good analysis of something. The brightest sparks of supernal awareness come from a spiritual challenge that tests our ability to overcome our baser instincts.
 
I learned this, of all places, through this year's super bowl.
 
After following my favorite team throughout my life, it soon became a nuisance. With an ever increasing workload, my personal "time outs" to read up on football began to feel like eating too much chocolate. I hate gaining weight, and I don't like feeling queasy – but somehow I just can't get enough of it! I couldn't go a day without spending thirty minutes online reading about my team's prospects for the upcoming game.
 
It got to the point where my work was being seriously affected by this obsession.
 
I had no choice. I went to my internet filter and told the program to treat all websites related to football as if they were inappropriate. I blocked myself.
 
It worked.
 
From that moment, I never read an article or watched a minute of football again.
 
Then something happened. I began to understand all of my problems with deeper clarity. Solutions came easier. It felt like I had more of my own mind available to me for everything else. It didn't feel like I had acquired a new level of understanding. It felt like I had accomplished it.
 
I am not saying that the key to supernal wisdom lies in long Sunday afternoon walks, but there is an insight:
 
The impurities of this world really prevent us from discovering the greater truths we already possess. They blind us from a level of awareness Hashem made available to us whenever we want it. The more we liberate our own being from the distractions of this world, the more able we are to perceive the true wonders within it.
 
It's like our eyes.
 
Imagine each eye divided into ten parts. Now imagine 20 bandages, each one covering up a part of the eye. We live our lives with these bandages on!
 
For every distraction in this world we discard, a bandage comes off and we can see a little more of what's around us. When we reduce the amount of television, we see even more. When we decide that it's time to consider how many movies we watch in a week, another part of our eye can fully function. Rabbi Arush teaches us that when we stop getting our daily news from the media – our spiritual vision becomes dramatically enhanced.
 
I am not one to dictate to you in which manner or to what degree you should balance your lifestyle between the need for rest and relaxation and the desire to explore the great potential that lies within. I didn't decide to "throw off the yoke of western culture" from my soul in a day – I was an avid sports fan for thirty years! My job fell into serious trouble before I was "forced" into it. Every change in life, especially big ones such as these, should be gradual and steady.
 
Throwing off our infatuation with movies, news, and sports is not merely a spiritual jump or even a cultural or political statement. It is a path to wisdom. It is way to amplify everything we perceive around us. We are fine tuning our ability to jump past the simple acquisition of knowledge with our intellects, and to process it, internalize it, and to realize personal and spiritual growth from it. This is a higher level of knowing. In this day and age – in any day and age – it is a truly precious trait. It's something we can carry within us every moment of the day. We can get more out of the Torah we learn even if we put in the same amount of time and effort. We can analyze our problems on a deeper level, coming up with better solutions for dilemmas at home, with friends, and in the office. We can internalize more information, propelling us a step ahead of our colleagues and peers. We will come closer to Hashem – gaining more out of every moment we are alive.
 
 
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Dovber Halevi is the author of the financial book, How to Survive the Coming Decade of Anxiety. He writes for Breslev Israel and The Middle East Magazine. He lives with his wife and two children in Eretz Yisrael