Let us search, today, for deeper understanding of one another, and for more authentic conversation.  May it be rich in sincerity and expansive in topic.  We spend our lives forming our opinions, only to exert far too much energy defending them.  The mistake we make is in believing that our’s is the only opinion of merit.  Our beliefs are like our children: we have trouble finding fault in them in spite of how they might behave.  This practice, in the extreme, is only divisive,  and leads to injustice, oppression, and war.  May we, this day, seek to hear each other truly, recognizing that their opinions and beliefs hold as much validity for them as ours do for us.  For compassionate hearts and open minds we give thanks.  Blessed Be, and Amen.