The Path of the Just: Chapter 25 (Part 2)

“But this fact” -- the fact that G-d’s presence suffuses all of existence,
and that He interacts with us moment by moment, wherever and whomever we are
-- “only touches you personally if you constantly reflect upon it and
observe it”, Ramchal remarks. That’s to say, it will only touch your heart
if you take it to heart, again and again.

For “this sort of thing is beyond our ordinary perceptions, and the mind can
only grasp it after much meditation and contemplation”, which isn’t hard to
understand given that G-d Himself can’t be seen and His ways often can’t be
discerned (both inherently and because we simply don’t make the effort to try).

“Even if it had made an impression” once you’ve made the effort, that
impression “will (still and all) be easily lost if you don’t constantly work
at it” since it’s so subtle, so demanding, and so astonishing. So you’d need
to be diligent as well as determined to catch hold of G-d’s presence in this
world as it rounds each corner and settles in every nook to escape your gaze.

Beware, though, for “just as a lot of contemplation is the only way to
attain constant fear of heaven, diversion of attention … or lack of
concentration is the way to lose it”, as each time you take your mind off of
G-d’s presence, you “distract (yourself) from the state of constant fear of
heaven”. That is, just as we’d need to ruminate and again about precious
moments we’ve shared with loved ones, perhaps on vacation, at family
reunions, on special occasions, and the like, in order to deepen the love
and connection, we’d certainly need to do as much to solidify our encounters
with G-d’s presence in the world.