Being Present—Feeling Connection
It is very common to see people who find themselves in the most elevated moments in their lives, and yet they squander them through the thoughts mentioned above. For example, a chassan on his wedding day: Instead of contemplating the greatness of the moment that he merits to become complete and utilizing the opportunity to give thanks to Hashem, he is preoccupied with the pictures or other silly and shallow cheshbonos.
The same is true of a person making a siyum on a masechta. Instead of contemplating the great privilege of learning Toras Hashem and completing an entire masechta, he thinks about who came and who didn’t come, if the food was tasty, and so forth....
Had their minds been in the right place, they would have felt that pleasure of connection with Hashem.
Closing Our Eyes
There are kehillos who have the minhag to conduct shalosh seudos in the dark. The reason for this is that when a person’s eyes are open and he can see everything around him, he can be distracted by people, thoughts, and things. He begins to make calculations... “What about this person? Is this person looking at me?” As he sings Yedid Nefesh, his mind is filled with all kinds of thoughts. But this is a shame. Why not be present in the moment?
When a person closes his eyes, it is easier not to become distracted. But closing our eyes isn’t enough; we must close down the distractions of our minds. Let go of everything! You’re now in the Hands of the Ribbono shel Olam... your life is in His Hands. If a person were to live in this way—completely reliant on Hashem and nothing else—he would feel incredible pleasure.
