You say this is an empty shell, and yet we have the same thing inside us all. which is it?

"Both. your skin is meaningless. this flesh is transitory. I'm not saying ignore it, but your body means nothing. And remember that of others as well. Their mind is what you must tap to gain understanding. All is the impediment. our nature is to be here longer, but we will pass when we learn enough, thus we make walls based on things like skin or religeon. we develop labels that are walls between us and them."

You keep talking about knowledge. Do you mean like science and stuff?

"Science is but the sketch, and we are a painting. a painting with facets, details, and colors unknown even to our own pallet. experience is not what is there, but how it interacts. a plank of wood is not the goal. It is the foundation for the frame upon which the house stands. science is understood by only a few, but despite knowing the makeup of the floor they are on, they are just as contributary to knowlege as the homeless man. emotions are the colors, experiences are the blends. each day is the painting, and every life is a book. a book that is left in the library we can each visit, but only if we can understand the meaning of the pages can we read the book. Just as a miser cannot enjoy a single penny, but just the same as a child cannot enjoy a brick of gold.

Sleep well my friends. paint your portrait well, and remember what's in it.