Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

>     Recently I’ve had the opportunity to enter into negotiations with someone I have known for quite some time. It’s a fascinating educational experience and, it turns out, a significant life lesson. The teaching is around the importance of shared values in reaching a common goal. I think what I’m learning says a lot about not only my particular situation, but conflict in general.
    Given the abundance of conflict in the world I’d like to pass my understanding forward.
    It’s only natural that where there’s conflict, efforts to resolve it will necessarily involve differing or opposing views. This, of course, is the basis for all conflict. Where we get tripped up is in assuming that the opposing view is founded upon the same core values that we hold. Proceeding from this misguided belief, we further assume that sooner or later, with enough effort, we can guide the opposing view to see it more our way. In certain situations, this may even be possible.
    Where the difficulty comes in is where the opposing view can’t possibly see it your way as your way originates upon not only a different view but also a different value.
    Example.
    You are negotiating terms and come to a mutual understanding of what that term should look like. You move on, believing that issue resolved. When later, the opposing party speaks and acts in a way that is in direct contradiction to the agreed upon term, and you bring it to their attention, their reply is that “they changed their mind” and intend to proceed as they see fit in the moment…regardless of what was previously agreed upon. Now it’s no longer a difference of opinion…now it’s a matter of a different value. One of you values agreements and integrity. The other values self-interest and expediency.
    What to do when values differ and are irreconcilable?
    I’m not totally sure.
    I do know the first step to resolution is to be realistic about where the conflict really exists. It runs much deeper than the circumstances when values differ. Perhaps knowing this, and accepting this, is a major step toward resolution in and of itself.
    I think another important piece is releasing any illusion that the opposition is going to remotely see things your way. By taking that step, it may free you up to settle the superficial conflict and walk away from the underlying one.
    The key is to be clear about which conflict you’re negotiating.
    If you miss the fact that there is a fundamental and critical divergence of values you may waste a lot of time and energy trying to move the mountain…when all that is required in order to move on is the shuffling around of a little loose dirt.
    I hope this helps.
    I’m still unraveling it myself.

Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book, “Too Many Secrets.”

>      At one time or another, most people have something they would like to say to someone who is famous…if only they had the opportunity. I had such an experience this morning. If I could speak with Hilary Clinton I’d tell her that when you “misspeak” you say things like “proceed” when you mean to say “precede”… you don’t say you ducked enemy sniper fire when you didn’t. That’s not a misspeak. It’s a lie. So is saying “I didn’t have sexual relations with that woman” and “it depends on what is is.” These are also lies. They are not misspeaks.
    Perhaps in the case of Hilary and Bill it’s like the old joke that goes something like this: An elderly husband and wife are sitting in a restaurant. When the meal arrives, the husband turns to the wife and says, “Which one of us doesn’t like the broccoli?” When couples have been together for a long period of time they often take on the characteristics, and habits, of the other. Sort of like those people you occasionally see who eerily look like their dog.
    It’s not necessarily a bad thing to mirror, or echo, someone with whom you have a history. However, I think the goal should be to reflect the best of who they are and what they are capable of rather than the worst. That’s a basic tenet of Life 101.
    And yet, there is a deeper and more troubling aspect to the Clinton’s propensity to bend (and sometimes mutilate) the truth in order to suit their end. It’s the fact that so many of us do it every day… which is why we have allowed the Clinton’s (and others) to get passes on accountability. Deep down inside, not only do we know they are lying, we know that we are lying as well. To judge them would mean to turn the bright light of truth around upon ourselves. Not a pretty prospect.
    I am, admittedly, a little irrational on this issue. I have a passion for honesty, born out of a childhood where family members routinely played with the truth and I spent more than a few good years trying to do the same. Fortunately, as a result, I learned rather early on that whatever the outcome, lying is never worth paying the price of diminished self-esteem…the natural outgrowth of willfully failing to tell the truth.
    The truth is also easier. Maybe not in the short run, for it can surely sting. But if it does, there must be an open wound somewhere and I’d rather cauterize it with the truth than cover it up with a lie…allowing it to fester into something much more deadly and significantly harder to heal. In that long run, there are no connivances or elaborate scenarios to remember with the truth. It simply “is.”
    Which brings us back to Bill and Hilary. He parsed what “is” meant and she is trying to parse what “misspeak” means. For my part, Noah Webster set it right a long time ago and nothing has changed since. “Is” is the present tense of the verb “to be.”  In a nutshell, therefore, either you are or you aren’t. “Misspeak” is pronouncing or speaking incorrectly. It’s about form, not substance. When the substance is knowingly in error, its a flat-out lie.
    If Hilary doesn’t know and can’t recall that she calmly walked off that plane in Kosovo rather than ” run with her head down to avoid sniper fire”…well, she’s not competent to be (verb intransitive) President of the United States.
    As for the rest of us, let’s just be honest with ourselves…and, oh yes, each other.

REMEMBER to click here to download my FREE e-book “Too Many Secrets.”
    
    

>     The students in Tibet are rioting due to the repressive Chinese regime that seems to be all out determined to commit cultural and religious genocide upon the Tibetan people and the apparent ineffectiveness of the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile and his pacifist approach.  As a result of the growing chaos, the Dalai Lama is threatening to resign as the head of that government-in-exile, although he has no such option as spiritual head of Buddhism.
    Thank heaven (no pun intended) for that minor technicality. Really!
    Have you ever seen that man smile? He has a priceless joy and innocence that I would pay good currency (and probably a bit more) to be able to live on a daily basis. It’s not naiveté, either. It’s the unfettered, and as yet untainted, innocence of children, before all the rest of us impose the “cant’s” and “dont’s” and “impossibles” of limited belief systems. It’s where we all were at one time…only he’s figured out the way back.    
    The world would do well to study at those feet for awhile.
    Instead, his government-in-exile goes unrecognized by every other government in the world, as does the censoring of Chinese internet access to any stories that shed the light of truth upon Chinese oppression of the Tibetan population. It’s not a surprise, really. The world is usually slow to respond to oppressive regimes where economic issues compound the matter and profit is at stake when standing tall for what is right.
    I think we’ve come far enough that we as citizens of this democracy should demand of our leaders that we do, in fact, recognize the man, the government-in-exile, and the indefensibly inhumane actions of the Chinese government.  And yes, that’s going to have economic consequences and who knows what other consequences as well.
    But here’s the thing.
    History, our history, is replete with examples of how we as a nation turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to efforts by other nations to annihilate a group of people for what they believed in and each of those historical events is a blight upon who we are. Plus, our delay in standing tall, in those instances when we ultimately chose to, simply cost the loss of so many innocent lives and then our fair share of our own. You’d think we’d have figured it out by now that it’s not about the money and it’s not about the oil. It’s always about making choices for the highest good of all concerned.
    So, here’s this amazing, peaceful man with this amazing heart-warming demeanor who makes you feel good and hopeful just to be around him. So turning a blind eye or deaf ear isn’t going to work on this one because he just has to show up and his energy positively changes the room whether you can see him.. or hear him.. or not.
    I suspect this was true of all the great spiritual leaders in history and always will be he case. Perhaps we can get ahead of the curve on this one and not have to stand by while he’s crucified or stoned or incarcerated or tortured. He is, after all, human and such things will hurt him as well as us.
    And although we’d be the worse off if such things happened, I suspect he’d never lose that smile or that childlike innocence.
    After all, he holds authentic power and if there is a secret, he knows it.

REMEMBER to click here to download my FREE e-book, “TOO MANY SECRETS”

>As a former practicing lawyer, I have fielded my share of “shark” jokes as well as deeply felt disappointment and disgrace at the sometimes behavior of my professional colleagues.  Such are my feelings yesterday and today regarding now ex-Governor Elliot Spitzer. It isn’t the sexual misconduct. That’s between he and his wife. It isn’t even his violation of the laws against prostitution, although that is the reason he had to resign…and should have.
    What’s most distressing is the message his behavior gives others, particularly the youth, about the need to live in accordance with the law. Whether or not the sociological basis for a law is valid, until such time as society, through either legislation or judicial action, decides to change it… we as citizens are bound to obey it. Nowhere is that obligation more vital than for officers of the Court or public officials whose very careers are predicated upon the upholding and monitoring of that obligation. When such people willfully, and with disregard for the fundamental ethical underpinnings of their positions, violate the law they act as a kind of perverse role model for the least of what we are capable of.
     So much moral and ethical damage occurred during the Clinton Administration when the President of the United States not only abused the influence and power of his position but also knowingly violated the law he was sworn to uphold as he intentionally lied under oath.  There was the highest official of the land sending a message that the law was no more than an inconvenience on the way to satisfaction of personal goals and, what’s more, something to manipulated for personal gain.
     I am saddened by Mr. Spitzer’s choice to violate the law..not so much for him as for the message it sent. However, I am heartened by the public uproar that has led to his resignation. At least the end result (for the time being) is a consequence proportionate to the behavior. This is an important message not to be missed.
     As we live through challenging times where changes are so rapid we hardly have a chance to adapt when the next one arrives…I think the overriding message from all of this is that Elliot Spitzer has now experienced what many others have and many more will.  We are living through a time of heightened transparency when efforts to deceive oneself and others will not stand. There are no more “secrets” whose disclosure would undermine the highest good for all concerned that can, or will, remain concealed. It would behoove each of us in our own lives, not to mention those with a more public persona, to heed this aspect and consequence of conscious evolution.
     Secrets are more easily kept among those who prefer to remain “unconscious” to the limitations, and ramifications, of deceit. While such people still exist, they will go the way of the dinosaur as humankind moves closer and closer to co-creating a world that more authentically mirrors our highest potential. That potential is to live with shadows without living in them.
     Elliot Spitzer got caught in the shadows.
     He has provided us with an important teaching.

P.S. Remember to download my FREE e-book, “TOO MANY SECRETS.”

>     As I was reading
today of the allegations that John McCain not only had an improper
professional relationship with a lobbyist named Vicki Iseman, but may
also have had a romantic one with her as well, I couldn’t help notice
the uncanny resemblance between the photos of Ms. Iseman and McCain’s
wife, Vicki. The two women could truly be twins…which makes added
fodder for the rumors and suspicion mill.
    So, as a former
divorce lawyer, I started thinking about why people, whether married or
not, choose to betray the trust of a committed relationship by
surreptitiously seeking out some form of companionship with another?
    I have been married twice. Once, at age 23 for a year and then
again at age 41 until present. In between those marriages I had two
meaningful, longterm relationships, as well as practiced divorce law
for 13 years.
    I know a little about relationships.
    Actually, I know a lot.
    Most of us choose a partner by default rather than by design. By that I meant we choose unconsciously. No, I didn’t mean sub-consciously.  I meant un-consciously.
When we are unaware and unawakened as to who we are as whole and
complete beings in and of ourselves we are attracted to an “Other” who
fills in the blanks that are the result of our own lack of development
or who, by their presence, distracts us from the inner work we so
conveniently wish to ignore. This is choice by default and its doomed
to fail. Without an “awakening” by one or both parties to the neediness
underlying the relationship, there can be no real growth or
progress…just a lot of exhaustive running in place, so to speak.
    Without that “awakening” and the inevitable return to the inner
journey of completing oneself, the most frequent “cure” is to find, by
default, yet one more “Other” who fulfills the same role. Who’s
presence helps perpetuate the charade that change is occurring.
    This is why people go in search, unconsciously, for someone outside
their relationship. The relationship they are in was founded on shaky
ground and, at some point, they begin to feel the ground giving way.
    They are looking for firmer ground but are unwilling to “go the distance” it will take to get to higher ground.
    They will find a quick and convenient fix to stop the pain. The underlying dis-ease will,of course, continue to fester.
    The irony is that anyone we are in a close relationship with holds the potential for our highest good and maximum growth if only we are willing to awaken from the sleep of delusion and face the truth of who we are.
    Nature always holds answers for me. When I look at the intelligent
design of it in all Its’ beauty and wonder it’s a small leap for me to
conclude that a similar design exists within Human Nature.
    The people in our lives are there to provide the optimal conditions
and opportunities for us to awaken from unconscious choices and see
both the Other and Ourselves as we truly are…each innocent and loving
co-creators who hold within us the knowledge of the highest good for
all concerned.
    If it turns out that John McCain had an
extra-marital relationship with Vicki Iseman, then the only thing we
will know for sure is that he is in some way unconscious and unaware of
who he really is.
    You may or may not find that relevant to the position of Commander-in Chief.
    That’s beyond the scope of this blog.

P.S. Remember to click here to download my FREE e-book “TOO MANY SECRETS”

>     It’s difficult not to continue
to follow and comment upon Barack Obama’s remarkable rise to the top of
the Democratic Presidential nomination process. As I watched his speech
last night in Houston, Texas following his victory in Wisconsin, making
it 9 in a row, I was simultaneously captivated by both his delivery and
the crowd’s response.
    It goes without saying that Obama has
what it takes in the charisma department. He has presence, passion and
is gifted in the art of delivery. He is speaking the language of the
present to the hearts of the many. He uses the words “change” and
“hope” in ways that are credible.
    But we must stay alert,
because he is using those words, and others, in a way that also
satisfies a deep hunger within us, and hunger can run so deep and be so
pervasive as to consume good judgment.
    It’s not my intention to
say that he is disingenuous or manipulative when, by his words, he
rallies us to believe in the best of ourselves and our country. Words
are powerful fuel and fuel is needed to drive the engine of change. My
caution is not around his words but rather around our hunger. Because
if I hear him correctly, his is not just a condemnation of the way
things have been, nor a panacea that he alone possesses that will
change the present, but a call to ongoing commitment by each of us to
change the future by changing the way we prioritize, and the thereby
live, our lives.
    It is incumbent upon Obama to fully mean the
words he speaks and equally incumbent upon us to fully listen to all of
those words, not just the one’s that temporarily alleviate our hunger.
For the hunger runs deep and a snack will not cure it. The long-term
solution requires dedication, hard work and perseverance in remembering
that we are each responsible for self-nourishment. And while, in times
of lesser abundance, a helping hand can make the difference between
survival and extinction, it is but a temporary bridge to the place
where our reality is the product of how successfully we live our truth
and how fully we take on the responsibility to nourish and care first
for ourselves and then for those who for whatever reason, are truly
unable to care for themselves.
    Barack Obama cannot save us. He
can, if he is authentic, leads us in the path of righteousness as some
before him have done…although rarely have they been politicians. But
there is nothing wrong with rarity and a fisherman or a shepherd were
no more likely candidates.
    My job, and yours, is the more important one. We must listen to our hearts and not our stomachs. We must discern for ourselves,
without being swept up in the crowd’s momentum, whether this man…who
aspires to be the bearer of a profound and transformative
message…understands the gravity of his task and whether we,over time,
are willing to carry the majority of the weight of it for it is surely
too heavy for any one man.
    Coming from a place of truth with an
intention to prevail through both word and deed, there is nothing we
cannot do together.

P.S.   Remember to click here to get my FREE e-book download “TOO MANY SECRETS”

>     Last night I listened and
watched both Barack Obama and John McCain give “victory” speeches
following the primary votes in Maryland, Virginia and the District of
Columbia. The contrast was stunning. And while I
continue to have my hesitations about Barack Obama, mostly around his
lack of experience and relationship to Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr.,
there is no denying that the content and delivery of Obama’s speech was
stirring. He has a gift for using language and passion in a way that
inspires and uplifts. These are qualities for which Americans are
hungry and this, I believe, is the core of his appeal.
    Last
night he spoke about “hope.” I find it fascinating that former
President Bill Clinton, husband of Obama’s rival for the nomination,
also rode to the Presidency on the same word. It was Bill Clinton’s
“The Man From Hope” carefully produced video retrospective of his life
(referring to Hope, Arkansas where he was born) that moved and inspired
many. But the hope that Bill Clinton held out was a Hollywood
orchestrated production lacking in a core truth that ultimately gave us
a national scandal and deep disillusionment of character.
    The hope
that Barack Obama spoke to last night was the real thing. It wasn’t a
play on words or a political web he was weaving to obscure the truth of
the matter. The hope he spoke of reaches into the heart and uplifts the
Soul. It is the hope that enlivens people and makes them want to be the
best they can be. He isn’t promising anything other than that each of
us will have to be fully engaged and part of the solution.
   
Obama is laying out the recipe for change, although there are many who
are missing what is being set before them. I hear them in the media every day,
talking about his lack of policy or, worse, his disastrous policies. We
have had leaders with great policies in theory who could neither
inspire nor lead. In the end, I do not think these criticisms will be
enough to obstruct his path to the White House. At the moment, he is a
man on a mission who appears to have a destiny.
    There are two common theories about leadership. The first is that great men (and hopefully someday women) lead
the governed where they  see a nation wanting to go. The second is that
people get the leader they deserve…one that reflects the times. Under
either theory, Barack Obama’s rise is encouraging. If nominated and
elected, the challenge for him will be to keep nourishing the seeds of
hope that he now speaks to and engenders. Faced with the realities of
the world and the temptations of power, this itself is a daunting task.
    I am heartened by Obama’s presence and the vision he paints. We as
a nation have, in many way, misplaced hope. It is important to be inspired and reminded of all that is possible when one puts their heart and soul
into creating something good.
    What Obama is reminding us is that each one of us is an aspect of a greater One. He bears the message that when we as individuals are joined by both heart and purpose we can, together, co-create something greater than the sum of our parts.
    This has always been this nation’s message.
    Now, let us hope.

>     Remember the 1990’s when the stock market was soaring through the ceiling and everyone who had the chance to have been invested in it was making more money than they ever dreamed they could? Back then every news report led with the DOW and NASDAQ numbers. I remember it clearly because it drove me crazy that the world seemed to revolve around the money. I tired of it, and yet it was almost impossible not to be inundated with those rising numbers on an hourly basis.
    Now, we’re headed back there again. But this time it’s the falling numbers and the growing apprehension around an economy that appears to be headed into tricky, some even say disastrous, waters. The tension, fear if you will, is becoming palpable. Combine this with a Presidential election on the horizon and we’re smack in the middle of some serious uncertainty.
    What’s a person to do? There are a few guidelines.
    First, hold on, but not too tightly. The ride is likely to be a bumpy one with a fair share of tossing and turning…that’s why the admonition is to keep your grip steady but flexible. Holding on too tightly can get something you’d rather not, snapped. Changing times are an opportunity to exercise the skill of adaptability. Better to ebb and flow than hunker down. From a flexible position, you will be better positioned to make necessary adjustments as things unfold.
    Secondly, know your core. By that I mean know what your guiding principles are and where your bottom line is in regard to what you value and what you are willing to let go. By having a good, working knowledge of what is important to you in Life, you will be positioned to be both inner directed and flexible.
  Thirdly, change is chaotic by it’s very nature. So expect the unexpected. Let go now of ideas and ways of doing things that have previously worked for you, as they will likely no longer bring the same end result. Old ways applied to new patterns will hardly create harmony. What will be required is an open mind and willingness to not react to the chaos, but rather to creatively approach situations with an expansive eye toward possible solutions…for there will be many.
     Finally, as the chaos intensifies, resist the urge to look to others for “answers.” Instead, go within and source your own inner guidance, trusting your own instincts to see you through.
     The economic news is a symptom, not a root cause. And when symptoms appear, there is always the choice between acquiescing to the potential “bad news” before it’s confirmed that it even exists (thereby guaranteeing that it will come)…or refocusing one’s efforts on identifying the most prudent and expeditious course to wellness.
     Let’s treat the economic indicators as symptoms that the underlying organism is out of balance and realign our priorities and our goals to bring It back to Center.
    This isn’t the end of anything other than worn out ways of living Life that need to be updated.
    We are living through Source’s correction. The DOW is just a symptom.

>     There’s a buzzword on the campaign trail for 2008 and it’s “change.” It started with Senator Barack Obama and has now spread to almost every candidate, regardless of party affiliation. When I first wrote about   Senator Obama back in the Fall of 2007, I made the observation that while I wasn’t sure he was “the man” he was certainly carrying “the message.” The message has taken off to the point where the word “change” itself has become the object of political punditry. So let’s be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak.
     There is a very real reason that Senator Obama’s appeal caught on so quickly and, some might say, surprisingly. It is because he uses language in a way, and espouses a specific message, that speaks to what so many of us are feeling within ourselves as well as experiencing in our daily lives. The message is that old systems and methods of conducting business as usual…be they personal or professional…simply aren’t working. The feeling is endemic and it is real. Old ways of “doing” are not, in fact, working because something has shifted.
    That something is an awakening, across the planet, by people who are experiencing their own inherent, creative power to manifest a reality other than the one they have been previously presented. When power shifts, it must necessarily go from one place to another. Remember, energy is neither created nor destroyed, simply redistributed. So, the shift that we are living through, the Paradigm Shift if you will, is a redistribution of power (the energy) from the few to the many. 
    While historically it has been the habit and custom to search outside ourselves for guidance and answers to Life’s big questions, to look for gurus and groups to show us the way, we are now both realizing and experiencing the blossoming of the seeds of personal power that have been germinating within our consciousness since the first act of Creation.
    The change we are now evolving through is both monumental and long awaited. It is important that we give it the recognition and depth of attention it warrants. And while the political process is reflective of this change, it is not the root but merely a symptom.
    It will take more than superficial references to change to transit this shift. It will take focus, attention, intention, and an unquestioned knowing that each of us is directly responsible for the choices we make. Whether that choice is the lever we pull in the voting booth or what we think about and say to the stranger in our midst…we are each empowered with the potential to create or destroy.
    There is a teaching in mystical Judaism that says that when the Messiah comes there will be a new circumcision… and it will be a circumcision of the heart. That the spiritual barrier that surrounds our hearts and causes us to see one another as separate will be removed, allowing us to know Oneness, finally.
    Change is at hand. Let us keep our eyes and ears on it and not be sidetracked by marketing attempts to water down it’s magnitude or it’s potential. Change is as hand, surely.
    Know that YOU ARE THAT CHANGE.
  

         >There’s a great scene in the movie “Jerry Maguire” where Tom Cruise,having been fired from his corporate job as a Sport’s Agent, scrambles to retain the one client, a recent college graduate all star, who could make Cruise a success all on his own. After meeting with the young man and his father and getting their agreement to exclusively sign with him, Cruise heads off to catch his flight back home. Exhilarated by the coup, Cruise is seen driving his rental car while station-surfing the car radio to find music that resonates with his mood. When he finally finds the song, it’s “Free Fallin” by Tom Petty. Both the lyrics and the music seem to capture the precipice that Cruise is walking between the “valley of death” and “heaven on earth.”
    I should be humming that same song today following another in the series of Democratic debates last night on television and this morning’s economic news of a DOW and NASDAQ in free fall. You see, we are traversing a precipice of our own and it has to do with Consciousness.  
    Let’s liken Tom Cruise’s firing to the huge drop in global markets over the last 24 (and perhaps coming 24) hours. What was the given is suddenly no longer true or reliable.  A sudden and, on the surface at least, devastating occurrence takes place. At such moments, one is suddenly confronted with two options: succumb to the apparent devastation with panic, fear and immobility or seize the moment to source oneself for calm, meaning and appropriate action.
    Now let’s liken Cruise’s decision to go out on his own and seize the opportunity to create a reality that exceeded even his own prior expectations of himself to what Clinton, Obama and Edwards did last night in the 2nd hour of their debate. In that hour, there were no time constraints on the candidates for their answers. In fact, there were no rules. They went from standing at podiums and answering pre-determined, moderator-imposed questions in the first hour to sitting down in three chairs and having a “conversation” among themselves in the 2nd. It was glorious. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.
    We, the People, were able to see them more relaxed, more unscripted, and more like what they might be like in talking with heads of state where policy concerns differ. It was previously unavailable insight into all three of them, for those of us who looked, although my point here is not about those insights or who they are. Kudos for whoever had the courage to put forth that format! We, the People are not interested in the show any longer. We want the Truth of the matter…and if you have the courage to present it to us we are awakened and courageous enough ourselves to see and hear it.
    My point is that humankind is walking a precipice between the old and the new, between what has always been and what is now possible in real time, between being pushed by fear or led by hope. We are Jerry Maguire. We’re in that car, taking that chance, and station-surfing for the music to express our heart-songs
    “Free Fallin” works for us as well.
    Ignore the economic news. It’s just an opportunity to move past the external, fear-based reality construct that has been in place for thousands of years and move towards sourcing inner guidance that propels you towards your highest good and the good of all concerned.
    Times of uncertainty create lots of unknowns which generate many questions. It is neither those questions nor their answers that matter. What matters is knowing with certainty that the Source of All questions and their answers Is within you…for you alone to discover.
    Walk this precipice with your eyes and heart wide open and discover a landscape rich and beautiful beyond your wildest imaginings.
    It just might turn out to be heaven on earth.