on communication and distance

In my philosophy class we are reading the book Speaking Into the Air by John Peters. Mainly the book is about media and how it is shaping society. Today we spoke about James Clark Maxwell's research named "On Action at a Distance." Here is something to ponder upon:
" The problem of communication becomes not only one of getting messages across the waste expanses traversed by the telegraph wires or the interference-prone "ether" of radio transmission, but one of making contact with the person sitting next to you. He [Maxwell] states a major theme of modernist art and literature: that bodies, even when pressed together with great force, may never be in absolute contact."

Our every-day communication with our family and friends and specifically those of us who are in PR, advertising or journalism world, is aimed on learning more about other people. We want to know exactly who they are, how they feel. We want to touch their soul. Yet according to this argument - there will always be a space between us and other people, us and God, us and maybe even our own soul. No matter how much closer we get, there is always more space to concur. In class we decided that this space has an important function as an engine of change and improvement. I bet those of you who are married could see it in your own life when even though you spend so much time with one person, you soon find that there is still room to learn more about them. How exciting that is!

I also thought it was interesting that according to this argument, physical distance really does not matter. We can be with a person in the same room yet be miles apart form each other. On the other hand, people who love and care about each other, could feel a strong connection even if they are across the ocean from each other. I have experienced it in my own life. People ask me if it is really hard to be so far from my family that is in Ukraine and my answer is that it is doable. I love them and they love me and we have that magic connection that I am sure, even if we don't see each other for 10 years, it will not change who we are for each other.