Closeness

Chasidus has the key to happiness; it’s the realization that Hashem is everywhere. Yes, this realization has everything to do with happiness. For under the surface of all things negative such as sadness and pain is loneliness. Eliminate the loneliness and the difficulty looses its sting. When you’re in pain or you’re frustrated what’s really bothering you is the feeling that nobody understands. You feel abandoned, left to deal with the pain all alone. Find a friend who can relate to you, and you will always be happy.

Hashem is everywhere. He is not just an abstract philosophical idea, he is everywhere and you should think of him as your close friend, a friend that will always understand you.

Many people choose to ignore his friendship. They would rather hang out with real friends, friends whose concern they can see with their eyes and whose soothing friendship can be felt with the arms embracing.

Here is the problem. If you really want understanding you need to have many friends, one to talk about philosophy, another to talk about sports, one to dance with and another to swim with.

Some times, all of your friends collectively can’t break into your loneliness, so you begin to drift away from them one by one, you discover that they really can’t relate to your experiences. After starting your adult life with tens of friends, you can consider yourself fortunate if you have even one at the end of the journey of life.

So human friends are real, but they are real limited. They can connect to you in a very physical way but their physicality blocks them from entering the deepest chambers of you’re heart.

Once you realize this you may want to consider a friendship with Hashem. True, he’s not tangible, but that may be his greatest asset. He’ll be there when you need him, he won’t drift away. He promised.

(Tanya Chapter 33)