Some are born with innate skills, others develop skills based on their experiences and personal circumstances. Most of the time having a particular skill is handy, but not essential. There is one skill however that is a moral obligation for every person to develop and perfect: The skill of seeing people for who they really are - a pure and holy soul that happens to be enclothed in a physical body. All too often we make the serious mistake of thinking of people from a wholly physical standpoint. This inevitably leads to conflict, because physical beings take up space, and when one space is occupied there is no room for another. When we feel our space being intruded upon we defend it with any means possible, sometimes even employing the lowest form of communication - personal attacks. We berate the intruder and vilify them, and this pushes them away from our space and we feel safe once again. But this is short lived, it’s not long before we have to defend our space again. Because as long as we take up physical space, there is no room for another. Unfortunately, this is all the more true this year, with our unusual political season. Politics is not a dinner table topic in good times, but it seems more true than ever this year. But even if we vehemently and passionately disagree with a person, there is no need to be disagreeable. We can respectfully and even vigorously debate the issues, never allowing personal animus to influence the discussion. But this is only possible if we look at ourselves and others in the right way. If we remember that we are all, in our core, pure and holy souls - then we will maintain the appropriate respect for the other. If, however, we allow ourselves to slip back into the physicality paradigm, we will soon find ourselves locked in bitter conflict and personal insult. Because as long as we take up physical space, there is no room for another.
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