Hey BigJ...that was from some time ago. It occurred to me after I posted it that the friend in question may have been a member of the Black Hebrew religious tradition, as that is a thing in the States where the other gent was from.
Never heard back, but I believe that may have been where the question originated.
Peace & blessings
7L
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Bound by conventions, people tend to reach for what is easy.
Here we must be unafraid of what is difficult.
For all living beings in nature must unfold in their particular way
and become themselves despite all opposition.
-- Rainer Maria Rilke