Hashgacha Pratis

"Hashgacha Pratis" is not just the answer to a person asking, "Why did this happen to me?" Rather, it is the fundamental answer to many questions people have about their lives. "Who am I? What is my purpose in life? What is happening to me?" The answer to all of these questions is, "Hashgacha Pratis." Your existence is in order for you to reveal God's majesty in a unique way that can only be expressed through your particular life. You need to move away from seeing your life only from your perspective and view it from the perspective of there being a loftier purpose to your existence.
א"ב לך לך

Where is Rosh Hashana?

In his Sefer אשיחה בחוקיך, Rav Avraham Zvi Kluger points out the many hidden aspects of Rosh Hashana. Within the Torah itself, the purpose of the holiday is absent. The Mitzvah of Shofar must be pieced together from several source. Indeed this is not the only area in which the concept of proclaiming a king is somewhat ambiguous in the Torah. The Mitzvah of appointing a king is not clearly explained, and one of the main functions of the king, namely the building of the Bais HaMikodosh, is poorly explained as well.
He explains that this is because it is necessary for a person to decide on his own to choose God as King, and it is not something that can be commanded. The same is true for the choosing of a human king, as well as the Temple.
There are those who understand that belief in God is not a Mitzvah. They explain that until someone understands that God created existence and remains intimately involved with its continued existence, one cannot be commanded to believe, that is precisely the issue, who commanded us? First one must choose to believe, then he can be commanded.
A מלך, Melech, king indicates a ruler who is accepted upon the people of their own volition. He is not someone who is forced upon the people. One Rosh Hashana when God asks us to make him Melech he is asking us to come to a point of being willing to accept him of our own volition and not as a result of force.
It is for this reason that the aspect of Rosh Hashana as the day to accept Hashem as King is hidden in the Torah. It cannot, by definition, be commanded. If it was commanded it would be lacking the main goal as it would not be emanating from our free will.

Self-Confidence

The Seforim discuss the distinction between the very serious sin of the עגל הזהב, the Golden Calf, after which Hashem completely forgave the Jewish Nation, whereas the sin of the מרגלים, the Spies, led to crying every year on the anniversary of their return. They explain that this can be compared to someone who hurt the feelings of a dear friend. Subsequently, he apologized and asked for forgiveness. His friend responds, I can forgive you, but you should know that the person you really hurt is yourself. You will never trust yourself again, and you will always be upset with yourself that you allowed yourself to act this way towards a good friend.

In the same manner, Hashem told the Jewish Nation that the sin of the Golden Calf was an insult to His honor, and he could forgive them. However, when they spoke negatively about the Land of Israel, they were really expressing their own lack of confidence in their ability to live in the real world, away from the miraculous life they had enjoyed for forty years. This has nothing to do with me, God explained, and I cannot forgive you. You are now torn internally, you don't trust in your innate holiness, and this will cause crying in all generations.

We have endured the destruction of two Temples and still await the building of the third, and yet there are those amongst us who don't trust themselves, they do not believe in their own holiness. If a person thinks that he cannot withstand the physical world, that is because he doesn't trust in his own holy power of free will, and in the ability of the soul to live within a human body.
אשיחה בחוקיך במדבר רי"ט

Squaring the Circle

The Talmud Yerushalmi teaches us that within God's Creation there are no squares; everything is circular. A circle represents something complete. A circle rolls from place to place and doesn't stay in one place. Its place is every place, it is not limited. This symbolizes Hashem whose place is the entirety of Creation.

In the Mishkan (Tabernacle) everything was rectangular other than the Kiyor which stood outside. Rectangular objects don't just roll from place to place and symbolize Tzimtzum (limitation). Hashem chose his Creations to embody Him in the world in a finite manner. There were many half-measures in the Mishkan and the Ark had half measures in all of its dimensions. This is to indicate that we are seeking something, the Schechina, to complete us.
א"ב שמות ר"ס

The challenge of really davening

It is much easier to write a book about prayer, defining what is prayer, and to spend a full year working of explaining the fine points of prayer, contrasting the value of prayer vs. Torah study, than it is to actually pray. Ask such an author how much time he spent writing the book, and how much time he actually prayed to God that he should succeed in writing the book...

A brilliant person can author such a book, but a more simple person would respond that after reading all these lofty ideas, do you know what really inspires me? The simplest things. Rabbi Shmuel of Knon said that after studying all the Kabbalistic intentions of prayer, he decided to pray like a child, with no intentions other than that he was speaking to God. All I can offer with prayer is my own two cents, but you God know that my disfigured prayer is what I can do, it is my handiwork for you....

א"ב יתרו

Finding God in the Present

It is much easier for a person to find God in the past or the future, than it is to find Him in the present. One can look at the past (היה) and notice how everything was for the good and directed by God. So, too, one can pray to God for the future (יהיה). But the real work, the real place to exercise free-will is in the present (הוה). When a person is in a situation that has not yet passed and it is not yet clear what that state has wrought, but he is presently in it, that is where he needs to find and reveal the presence of God.

The letters of God's name י-ה-ו-ה represent the four spiritual world of Atzilut, Briyah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. The last three letters הוה represent the lower three worlds in which the vessels (existence) are not completely subordinate to the light (spirituality). Those worlds are the arena within which mankind operates. The letter י, representing Atzilut, represents serving God in the past and the future. Notice that היה, past, and יהיה, future, both have the letter י within them. But in the present God is hidden. And that is where free-will plays a role. By adding a little bit of ink to the word הוה, you form the name of God. Just by shining a little bit of God's light, the light of Atzilut, a person can change the three lower worlds to become manifestations of the Schechina. He can unite the entire name of God, the letter י within the הוה, present, and thereby create a dwelling place for the Schechina in the lower worlds (דירה בתחתונים).
ראצ"ק א"ב בשלח קל"ג

Realism

There are some people who feel that they have no place in this world. Each one feels like giving up for one reason or another. One because of his children, another because of health, and a third because of financial difficulties. Others are wracked with jealousy of other's perceived happiness, glory, or success. Imagine a person who invested money belonging to other people and lost it all. Even if he toils 24/7 for the remainder of his life he will never be able to repay what was lost. He is so depressed that he cannot get out of bed.If you have any close friends you have seen this scenario now and then.

A Tzaddik should encourage people not to give up. Don't be like the people in Mitzrayim who wanted to remain there as they didn't believe. The Tzaddik says, if you have no place in this world, let us create Olam Haba for you here in this world.Come and speak to Hashem in a simple and real manner. You know that you aren't about to become some great and famous person, you recognize reality for what it is.

The Tzaddik doesn't speak to the person the way in which we speak to children, full of exaggeration and telling each individual that he is destined for greatness. Reality is not like that. Our Sages teach us that if 1,000 children enter a school, only one will come out destined for greatness. But the Tzaddik has compassion on the other 999, and teaches them the value of every act they do. Even a little Tzeddakh, even a little bit of Torah study, some prayer, a few good deeds. Every little good thing creates a wonderful world in which to live. And our Sages teach us that in the World to Come we will see that those who were exalted here are low down there.

Learn to look at yourself and your life from a true spiritual perspective.