Friction can arise in the best of relationships when daggers seem drawn. What the practice of meditation enables us to do is not to take such confrontations personally but to understand where they are coming from. Let me give you an example. Some years ago, a close woman friend and colleague sent me out of the blue a six-page letter demolishing my life and work. I did not take offence, as I realised this was coming from a dark place within herself. I wrote to say: the bridge is down, but come to lunch and let us rebuild it. She came to lunch; no reference was made to the letter, but she was clearly relieved that our friendship was not broken, and we have continued to be close friends.
