Surely one of the most perverse features of human relations is how we often consider people who are our close allies to be enemies, because we happen to disagree with them for some reason at the moment.

Please pause for a moment and think: right now, who do you see as an antagonist, or an impediment, or frustration?

<a href="http://www.sindark.com/genius/06-Meditation-6-Exploring-Difficulty.mp3" title="Meditation 6 - Exploring Difficulty">Please spend ten minutes listening to this meditation.</a>

Was the person you chose actually someone who you respect and see as a fellow human being, have they expressed any beliefs or ideas or taken any actions which you see as admirable? Chances are if you are thinking about somebody a lot of the time, there is something about their conduct or your memory of them which speaks to your moral roots or foundation.

If you didn't listen to the meditation please consider for the future, whenever thinking about a person who you don't feel too good about:<blockquote><p>No matter how we appear on the outside, all of us can feel fearful, sad, or lonely on the inside...</p>
<p>May they be safe, and free from suffering.</p>
<p>May they be as happy and healthy as it is possible for them to be.</p>
<p>May they have ease of being.</p></blockquote>I feel like the clearest mark of wisdom in this advice is the caveat "as it is possible for them to be". Mortality is a central and inescapable part of human life.