Listen to the wombat

A human being is part of the whole, called by us 'Universe', a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons around us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole nature of in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such an achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.

-----Einstein, The Lives and Times by Ronald W. Clark

Or to put it another way: http://www.globalcommunity.org/flash/wombat.shtml