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What Zack Love says is completely true, specially in today’s world and its environment when there is continuous aggression on one’s physical comfort zone, intellectual onslaught by overwhelming information downpour, and by lucrative spiritual advances to change or dilute one’s beliefs and faith. Compartmentalization is the reality of life, physically at cellular level, mentally for appropriate filing and retrieval of information and spiritually to filter out the diversions. Segregation and compartmentalization are essential for living a healthy life; physically as physiological defense mechanism, mentally as psychological defense mechanism and spiritually as defense mechanism to retain and sustain one’s faith. It is vital however, that this phenomenon of segregation and compartmentalization is not interpreted as dividing the communities based on personal whims and manmade rules and regulations.

Sudden upheaval in everyone’s lifestyle by recent events has made it necessary to relook and reassess the necessity as well as the ways and means for compartmentalization. Guidelines for physical segregation that are being advocated today may stay with us for a long time to come. Greeting by folded hands rather than casual handshake is the healthy way where everyone keeps their germs in their own hands. One cannot undermine the importance of touch and body contacts however, its practice will have to be selective, limited to those who can be trusted for their hygienic habits. Similarly, internet and telecommunications have made direct face to face discussions and arguments redundant, thus avoiding the situations where verbal abuses, insults and offending situations can bring the participants in combative mode. By today’s standards, it can be considered as healthy way of communication.

We can create a healthy environment despite isolation by changing our greetings habits, by minimizing our physical needs, by following the principles of respectful arguments, and by respecting each other’s faith and beliefs without being unduly critical and dogmatic about the superiority of one over the other. The principle of live and let live is the best and the healthiest way to stay connected and united, despite being isolated.

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