Holiness
From SiddurWiki
Who can take on such a charged topic of holiness? In tradition, this refers to being "separate," "unique," even "special," chosen by God to carry out His commandments.
What is truly special, though? Another way of looking at this would be "to be present," to not "sleepwalk" through life. That means always living to the best of your abilities, striving to achieve more, to better yourself and the world, and never give up.
Holiness also refers to being self aware and able to grow. Do you know who you are? Once you truly do, it would not be hubris to call yourself holy in this non-supernatural understanding.
Returning to the more common interpretation that being holy means being "unique" or separate, this can be understood as recognizing that not everyone in the world has achieved this self awareness or a sense of being present in life. Being unique can be seen not as an off-putting concept but one that we should strive for as a positive.
See also the section on angels where we discuss the angels repeating "holy, holy, holy" as a way of either focusing or representing humankind's reinforcement of the critical mission of "God" (the power within us to do good and change the world).
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