"Freedom," one of my teachers used to keep saying, "is responsibilty."

Space. It does not exist by itself. We create it - for ouselves, for our friends, our acquaintances, our colleagues, our employers, our rulers, our tormentors, our allies, our enemies... And once we create it, we are bound as much by the zones we create as are the people for whom the zones were created. When my space for friends and your space for friends coincide, we exist for each other as friends. These spaces or zones could be spatial, mental, emotional, spiritual, political, temporal, social - anything.

Sometimes, more than one person is engaged in creating a space. Sometimes it is society which does that, sometimes religion. And like every individual or entity, these spaces too keep evolving, changing with time. Which is why we fall out of love, grow out of things and grow in to other things.

When we have our spaces and zones with our own rules and regulations, we must also recognize that others have spaces and zones too. It is when this is not done, either deliberately or otherwise, that conflict begins. And our space becomes 'our turf,' and battle is joined.

As my teacher still says, "Freedom is responsibility."

Cheers.