The Secret of Life

Rebuilding A Rainforest

After the previous post about the world food crisis, I thought it would be nice to balance it with a bit of good news. So I was delighted to find this item in The Observer about the successful restoration of 5000 acres of rainforest:

"Six years ago the area around Samboja in Borneo was like much of the world's tropical rainforest: denuded. The trees had been cut for timber, the land burnt, and in place of what should be some of the richest biodiversity on the planet were thousands of acres of grass.

"But from this ruined landscape a fresh forest has been grown, teeming with insects, birds and animals, and cooled by the return of moist clouds and rain. It is a feat that has been hailed by scientists and offers hope for disappearing and ruined rainforests around the world."

The project is the brainchild of Indonesian forestry expert Dr Willie Smits, the principal aim being to establish a new habitat for endangered orangutans. But the implications of what has been created are surely broader than this. Smits says: "If you walk there now, 116 bird species have found a place to live, there are more than 30 types of mammal; insects are there. The whole system is coming to life. I knew what I was trying to do, but the force of nature has totally surprised me."

What this suggests to me is that nature is ready and waiting to repair the damage we have done to our planet - if only we give her a chance.

Smits says: "The principles are that you must have scientifically sound approaches, work with local trees, and you have to have the respect of local people - that's the key."

Indeed, the project has been planned with the local population very much in mind. Local farmers were able to plant agricultural products between the trees in the early stages of reforestation, and for the long term, a circle of sugar-palm plantations has been planted around the forest. This provides income for over 650 families, and also acts as a barrier against forest fires.

Can you imagine what might be achieved if there was the will to create similar schemes on a global scale? This project illustrates what we humans are able to achieve if we are willing to work with passion: to take on board the complexities of the task in hand, and to work in harmony with people and with nature.

If we can approach our global fuels policy in the same sort of spirit, we can surely avoid the kind of suffering and injustice I described in the previous post. What we need is for our leaders to pay attention to what they are doing, to be present, instead of having most of their minds on how what they're doing is going to play at the next election. They need to engage with the complexities of the situation, instead of just setting headline-grabbing targets.

If we all sit down together and put our energy where it is really needed, working for the benefit of everyone concerned instead of just our own self-interest, there is no limit to what we can achieve. We can redress the damage we've done to our planet. We can create a better world. All we need is the will that it should be done.

You can read more about the reforestation project - and sponsor an area of rainforest - at the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. Dr Smits and his colleagues have written a book about their work: Thinkers Of The Jungle - The Orangutan Report

World Food Crisis - Urgent Petition

Regular readers of The Secret Of Life will know that I believe that the various problems facing the world are so complex that a wholesale upgrade in human consciousness is needed if we're going to sort them out. But that doesn't mean to say that we just have to sit back and twiddle our thumbs in the meantime. There are times when action is needed.

The current preoccupation with the world financial crisis has been drawing attention away from something which is far more critical: a world shortage of food. There have been food riots in Haiti (where people are having to eat mud cookies made of dirt, salt and vegetable shortening instead of the food they can't afford to buy) and unrest in a string of other countries including Egypt, Mozambique, Senegal and Indonesia. There are warnings that more than a hundred million people worldwide could be plunged into hunger.

The reasons for this are complex. They include the growing popularity of meat in some emerging nations and the effects of recent poor harvests due to climate change, but they also include the biofuels policy of western governments.

Biofuels seemed like a really good idea; reducing reliance on fossil fuels by growing plants and putting those in your car instead. This would be a source of renewable energy and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

Biofuels have therefore become an important part of the strategy for cutting carbon emissions worldwide. The European Union's Biofuels Directive, for instance, states that biofuels should comprise 5.75% of traffic fuel by 2010 - and 10% of it by 2020. In the US, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires American fuel producers to use at least 36 billion gallons of biofuel by 2022.

The only trouble is: the leaders haven't done joined up thinking. The farmers who are being encouraged to grow biofuels are no longer growing food, which is why the use of these new fuels is one of the most important factors which is pushing up global fuel prices. Put crudely and simply (and only a little over-simplistically) people are starving and literally having to eat mud because we're putting their food in our cars.

I don't think we should be too hard on our leaders here. The drive to biofuels has come from perfectly sensible intentions. But clearly things are going wrong. The situation is proving to be a lot more complex than they realized. Quite apart from the food problem, it turns out that the growing of biofuels is not always environmentally friendly after all: not when trees are being cleared away to produce them. Of course it is vital to address the problem of carbon emissions, but it seems like a lot more serious thinking is needed before we make some terrible mistakes.

Sometimes petitions have little chance of making a real difference. They serve little purpose except perhaps to make us feel a bit less bad about whatever is happening. But this is a different situation. It is vital that we the people make it plain that we will not stand for this, that we are not willing to let people in other parts of the world starve to death so that we can run our cars. It is vital that we let our leaders know that they have to think again about this one. Please consider signing this petition, which will be brought before the leaders at upcoming global summits.

You can read about biofuels on Wikipedia here. There are many articles on the net about the effect of biofuels on the food crisis. One of them is here. But they need to be higher up the agenda....

This seems like a good time to mention that there's a big 'free food' button on my sidebar - it should be easy to spot. Click on that and you can give food to the needy for free. And from that site you can follow links to other sites about breast cancer, child welfare, saving the rain forest etc. They all allow you to give to worthy causes for free. I try to click through them every day. It takes very little time and every little helps.

But don't forget to sign that petition...

The Oneness Temple

I've written previously here at The Secret Of Life about Deeksha or Oneness Blessing, the transfer of energy which I've been receiving for about two and a half years now and which I believe has had a remarkable effect on my spiritual development. The aim of Deeksha is to facilitate the shift in human consciousness which many of us believe - or at any rate, hope! - is almost upon us. Deeksha works not by creating the shift - which is going to happen anyway - but by helping the brain to attune to the transformation.

Now, at the Oneness Movement's HQ in southern India, a new project is coming to fruition. The Oneness Temple is a vast structure which is 108 feet high, stands on a 42 acre plot, and contains the largest pillarless hall in Asia. It is not dedicated to any particular religion but to 'the one divine presence which is everywhere'. After many years of work, it has now been completed and is being consecrated tomorrow. Built on an intersection of ley lines, the temple is intended to act as a spiritual 'power house'. The idea is that all times, eight thousand enlightened people will be meditating in the great hall, radiating their consciousness throughout the planet, facilitating the change.

This information may produce a wide range of reactions: awe, joy, curiosity, skepticism... For myself, I look at the state of the world and see how much we need such a transformation. How else are we to find a way forward? I can only be grateful for such a project. I shall be open to whatever it may bring.

Please see my Spirituality Links page for information on Deeksha-related sites.

Eckhart, An Update... And This Time It's A Dolphin

There's a whole big bundle of stuff today. First of all, a bit more about the Eckhart-Oprah webcasts. If like me you've been listening to these on your portable player, you may be interested to learn that Pete at Touchstones has some selected video clips from the webcasts up for discussion on his blog. The pictures seem to give an extra dimension to the discussions - and enhance the sense of presence you can get from experiencing Eckhart Tolle's teaching.

I suspect that different parts of the webcasts will stand out for different people - you hear whatever you need to hear at the time. For me, the part of the second discussion which really grabbed me was when someone emailed in to ask how best to break free of the ego. 'Ego' isn't an expression I've used a lot on this blog but of course this is referring to the part of ourselves which is constantly trying to prove itself and compare itself to others, the part which is constantly seeking validation. Eckhart describes the ego as trying to 'complete itself'. It is aware that something is missing but it's not sure what, so it is constantly searching and looking for 'the next thing'.

Eckhart's advice in response to this question was to try to become as comfortable as we can with the present moment. This is because the ego hates the present moment. In its urge to 'complete itself', it is constantly on the lookout for what is going to happen next, as it searches for whatever it needs to make it whole. It is therefore constantly wishing for the present moment to end. So if you can lose that impatience and become comfortable with whatever is happening right now, you are starting break free from the ego and get in touch with your true self, which can always be found in the peace and power of the present.

If these webcasts have piqued your interest in Eckhart Tolle, you may like to go along to a Stillness group, where you can watch a video of Eckhart's teaching and then experience stillness in the company of others. My friend (and The Secret Of Life reader) Sally runs the group here in Leeds, UK, and hosts a directory of such groups throughout the UK. This site also includes links to groups in Eire and Spain. For US and other international groups, there is a similar site here.

Moving on to other things, the Gateways Of Light video about planetary transformation, which I featured back in January, got some good feedback, and I was recently contacted by Chris Bourne of Openhand Foundation, who developed the video. Chris wanted to let me know that it has now been 'improved and upgraded', so the original post now links to this new version.

I've mentioned before that I attend Ed Harpin's Kundalini Yoga and Deeksha sessions in Huddersfield here in the UK and I've recently written about my experience of the sessions on Ed's web site. You can find my write-up, along with the experiences of some other attendees here.

And don't forget to take a look at the comments on the posts here at The Secret Of Life if you get the time. We've been having some particularly interesting discussions recently, especially in response to the post How Much Do We Really Know? And of course, any comments you would like to leave yourself are very welcome...

Finally, here's a heartwarming story about a dolphin who came to the aid of some beached whales. I don't intend to deluge you with cute animal stories (much as I like them myself!) but I particularly like this one because of what it reminds us about dolphin intelligence and empathy for creatures outside its own species. (And also because it's just like Skippy the bush kangaroo...)

Eckhart, Oprah.... And A Giraffe

There's been a lot of publicity, but just in case you hadn't heard, Oprah Winfrey is talking to Eckhart Tolle about his book A New Earth in a series of ten live interactive webcasts on Monday evenings. Each of the webcasts will focus on a different chapter of the book. You can sign up to participate here.

The first of these webcasts took place last week and is now available to download here. The project seems to have been very well planned. There's even a handy reckoner here to work out when the webcast will take place in your particular time zone. It works out at 6pm US Pacific time, 9pm US Eastern time, and 2am here in the UK (where the downloading option is proving rather popular).

Apparently half a million people watched the first webcast live, so it looks like the project will bring this kind of teaching to unprecedented numbers. I know it's shamefully frivolous of me, but I can't help wondering if Eckhart's trademark beige sweaters will become the must-have fashion accessory of 2008.

I have to say that I found the first webcast compulsive listening. Oprah Winfrey's contributions brought an interesting new perspective to Eckhart's teaching and the webcast may be of particular interest to those who are unsure about how to integrate spiritual teachings with existing Christian beliefs. Do let me know what you think...

And finally... What was that about a giraffe, you may be asking? Well, we've recently touched on IQ tests here on the blog and some of you expressed a bit of skepticism, so I though you might appreciate an antidote to such tests. Here's a link to a test of... well, something or other. I think you'll enjoy it. Take the giraffe test here! And if you'd like to let me know how you get on, I'll be happy to hear from you...

How Much Do We Really Know?

There were some interesting comments on the previous post, The 'Left Brain - Right Brain' Dancer. Some saw her turning clockwise, some anticlockwise, and others a bit of both. If you haven't looked at this picture, you might want to take a look now.  If you see the dancer turning anticlockwise, perhaps you would like to try a little experiment for me? Place your attention on your 'heart center', the center of your chest, and hold it there for a while as you watch the dancer. Does she now turn clockwise, I wonder?

One of the people who commented on the post was Liara Covert of Dream Builders. I am grateful to Liara for the interesting - and sometimes challenging - comments she leaves here. This time she remarked: "...research studies always offer food for thought. We can choose to believe them or not. We can choose to take information with a grain of salt."

Having a scientific education, I'd once have disagreed strongly with this statement. These days, however, I think I'm closer to Liara's point of view than to my own stance back then. I wouldn't  go quite so far as she does. If I jumped out of a plane, for instance,  I think I'd want to take a parachute with me, whatever I might decide to believe about gravity. But this is an extreme example. Is our knowledge of things always so well defined?

In our society, we like to think of ourselves as being governed by logic, but the truth is that all too often we have insufficient evidence to come to a purely rational decision about things. Our lives these days tend to be complex, and a great many factors are often involved. We rarely have all the relevant information, and even what we think we know can often be based on guesswork and supposition. People who think of themselves as essentially rational will grit their teeth and try to apply logic nevertheless, in spite of the lack of sufficient evidence, but isn't this really like building a house on inadequate foundations? Is it really any more sensible than reading tea leaves or looking for signs in the sky?

It may seem like anathema to the modern mind to take notice of such signs and omens, but many of us do such things instinctively even though we may believe we are creatures of logic. Prime examples are buying a house or choosing a partner. Most of us wouldn't dream of doing either of these without giving a great deal of weight to how we felt about it.

If, on the other hand, we were buying, say, a refrigerator, we would be much more likely to rely on logic, ticking off a checklist of features perhaps. How we felt about it would seem much less significant. It is only when we step up to larger, more important purchases, such as a car, that our gut feelings come to seem important. Even more so for a house - and even more than that for choosing a partner. In other words, the more important the decision, the less we tend to go on logic alone and the more we go on our feelings, our instinct, our intuition. How does this fit in with our rational, scientific world view exactly?

Of course, it might be argued that there are whole areas of our lives where logic can be applied with complete confidence. Think of all the scientific evidence we have built up about this, that and the other. This allows us to build at least parts of our lives upon certainty.

Or does it?

Liara says we can choose to believe such information or not. But how can she say such a thing?

Perhaps she is simply keeping up with the news...

I wonder if you saw a news report last week about a research study carried out at the University of Hull here in the UK which reviewed the data from 47 clinical trials into the use of SSRI (and similar) antidepressants. The study concluded that in most cases, the drugs are no more effective than a placebo. This is contrary to the evidence from previous studies. So why the discrepancy? Simply because the Hull team studied unpublished as well as published data. It seems that the drug companies have chosen to publish only those studies which suggest that their drugs are effective. If the studies have shown the opposite, they haven't been published. The Hull team had to use freedom of information legislation to get hold of the missing data.

(It occurs to me that the team in Hull must have really gone out in a limb in order to do this - and I find myself wondering if the study has been reported outside the UK. Has anyone seen it in the US or other non-UK media, I wonder?)

So in this case at least, the research studies didn't reflect the outcome of scrupulous research according to rigorously applied scientific methods at all, but simply the vested interests of the companies which had financed them. It is difficult to avoid the suspicion that a similar approach may have been taken in the study of other drugs.

Suddenly, the body of research evidence in the field of therapeutic drugs no longer seems such a strong foundation for rational analysis. Other areas of research may be less controversial perhaps, but we are fooling ourselves if we ignore the potential influence of vested interests in all such studies. What results will encourage further finance? What results will assist the researcher's career? When a scientific study has been carried out, it doesn't have to be published if the researchers don't like the results. And if they only like part of the results, they don't have to publish the rest. On top of which, of course, there's a lot of scope for different interpretations - the way the results are presented can have a significant effect.

It would be ridiculous, of course, to dismiss the value of scientific research entirely because of such factors - or to ignore the immense benefits which science has brought us over the years - but we the general public are fooling ourselves if we think that our science is based upon absolute certainties. It does not equate to our world. It is, at best, an incomplete and often inaccurate model.

When set against this, it is perhaps not so ridiculous to place emphasis on what our own experience and intuition tell us. What do we feel inside? Do we detect a voice inside us which sometimes seems to speak with absolute confidence? Is it possible that we are connected to some source of intelligence which transcends the shortcomings of the scientific model? That if we trust ourselves, we will find inside a knowing?

The next time I jump out of a plane, I'm still going to take my parachute. After all, it feels right to have something to hold on to. But bear in mind that I didn't discover gravity in a book. I did a lot of research as a child: falling over and painfully scraping my knees.

Gateways Of Light

Following on from the previous post, here's a video about the process of transformation which may be ahead of us all. It starts off with a rather downbeat view of the state of the world, but in featuring this video, it is not my intention to be alarmist. I would much rather focus on the second part of the video: about how we can help both ourselves and the world through personal transformation.

Thanks to Ed Harpin for bringing this video to my attention. Ed says: "It's a short, sweet and direct video, that I think quite simply gives the view of the times we are in... the changes that we may be facing just around the corner... and the possibility to transcend."

I'd also like to quote the words of Sue Ann Edwards in her comment on the previous post: "I have Faith in us. I know we're afraid of change but we need to get over it... emotionally grow up... develop. We have nothing to fear but fear itself. We're inventive. We're competent. We're imaginative. We're creative. We will meet any and all changes and challenges, with confidence and courage."

(Note: This is now a new 'improved and upgraded' version of the video - March 2008)

Philip Pullman - A Process Of Evolution

Reading an interview with author Philip Pullman in yesterday's Daily Telegraph, I was reminded of a post I wrote a few months ago, in which I argued that a wholesale change in human consciousness will be needed if we are to survive the approaching environmental crisis. Here's what I wrote at that time:

"Only when we come to think of ourselves as first and foremost an integral part of the human race and the universe at large, rather than as separate entities in competition with each other, will we have the perspective needed to sit down as one and work together to find a way out of this mess."

To some extent, Pullman appears to echo this in his Daily Telegraph interview:

"I think we've evolved in such a way that suited conditions on the savannah 500,000 years ago, a way of life that was acquisitive, territorial and combative. The degree to which the processes of civilisation, or socialisation, can overcome that depends on the timescale. In the long term, I back evolution - if we can survive this crisis that we're in...

"It's like going down a river, and about mid-century we're going to go through the rapids, and it's going to be terribly difficult for all of us. But we can survive and if we can get through this... it's going to be wonderful."

How exactly Pullman thinks that this necessary process of evolution is going to happen isn't entirely clear - but then with evolution it rarely is. Don't get me wrong - I'm no creationist - but the small print of evolution has always puzzled me. How did those fish come out of the water exactly? Gary Larson's explanation (in one of his Far Side cartoons) that the fish were playing baseball and evolved legs in order to get their ball back when it landed on dry land seems about as convincing as any other.

All Pullman seems to suggest is that the environmentalists' storytelling skills need to evolve so that they can better communicate the message about what people can do to help the planet. He says:

"People feel helpless when they see pictures of devastated forests cut down and the glaciers melting and the poor polar bear sweating on its bare rock in the sea. 'What can we do, what can we do?' People need to be told what it is that they can do."

I wish I shared his optimism that this will be enough to make a difference.

Pullman, of course, is widely known for the anti-religion stance of his fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials, an ancient, authoritarian 'God' being unceremoniously killed in the final volume. Personally, I kind of like these books, such misgivings as I have about them having a lot more to do with the shambolic plotting than with any underlying agenda. I doubt that Pullman would view this blog in such a kindly light however. He has been quoted as saying "I don't think it's possible that there is a God: I have the greatest difficulty understanding what is meant by the words 'spiritual' or 'spirituality'".

So I assume that Pullman would be fairly horrified - or at best bemused - by my belief that the necessary evolution is going to be a spiritual one, a process of evolution in which we come to realize that all of us are One, that all of us - including our planet and all the life forms upon it - are part of something which some might describe as 'God'.

Yet Pullman goes on to say in the interview:

"I suppose the real story, the basic story, the story I would like to hear, see, read, is the story about how connected we are, not only with one another but also with the place we live in. And how it's almost infinitely rich, but it's in some danger; and that despite the danger, we can do something to overcome it."

Are we really so far apart, I wonder, the 'spiritual' me and the 'secular' Pullman?

I hope not, because it seems to me that it is a gap which is going to have to be bridged in our forthcoming process of evolution...

(You can read the Telegraph interview with Philip Pullman here. This in turn is an edited extract from the forthcoming book Do Good Lives Have To Cost The Earth? by Andrew Simms and Joe Smith.)

Free Teleconference

I was posting recently about the planetary transformation which many people predict will occur in the near future. If you're interesting in finding out more about this idea, then you might be interested in taking part in a free teleconference which is scheduled for this coming Friday, January 11th, 2008. You can find full details of this conference - and sign up for it - here.

The scheduled time for the conference is from 11-11 am to 1-11 pm EST; 8-11 to 10-11 am Pacific Time. Here in the UK, it will run from 4-11 pm to 6-11 pm, which is surprisingly civilized. We British usually have to get up in the middle of the night for this sort of thing...

(In case you're wondering about the conference starting and finishing at 11 minutes past the hour, I assume this has to do with what I've recently been told about '11' being a number of spiritual significance! Having just moved in to a #11 myself, I'm quite chuffed about this...)

One of the panelists taking part will be Kiara Windrider, author of an 'unofficial' book about Deeksha called Deeksha - The Fire From Heaven. So this seems like a good time to mention, by the by, that Windrider's web site is a brilliant resource. The wealth of articles includes information on Ilahinoor, a transformative energy similar to Deeksha which has emerged in Turkey; what seems to me to be a very sensible perspective on recent controversies within the Oneness (Deeksha) Movement; and a valuable discussion of the 'dark night of the soul', about the 'negative' emotions which can arise during spiritual transformation.

Earth Doomed! (see page 53)

More 'Heart Of The Secret' to follow soon but first of all I'd like to draw your attention to the UN Geo-4 report on the 'global environment outlook', which was published last week. According to The Times, 'the report was drafted and researched by almost 400 scientists, all experts in their fields, whose findings were subjected to review by another 1,000 of their peers'. The report warns that 'the speed at which mankind has used the Earth's resources over the past 20 years has put humanity's very survival at risk'. We are warned that 'the point of no return' is fast approaching.

What causes me greatest concern is not the report itself, chilling though it is, but the low degree of priority it has been assigned in the news media, at least here in the UK. I heard about it last Thursday morning in a brief bulletin on BBC Radio 5 Live but as the day went on, the story seemed to slide down the news agenda. When I searched on Google News in the evening it appeared at number 9 in 'world news'. When I checked the papers the following day, I found that of the four 'quality' UK dailies, only The Times and The Independent chose to put it on their front page. To their credit, both ran it as their sole front page story, clearly believing that it deserved maximum publicity. In The Telegraph, by contrast, it appeared on page 16.

I also checked the Daily Mail, the 'popular' UK daily which does so much to inform our population about the threat to our national way of life from immigrants and other minorities. But they didn't seem to believe that the threat to our national way of life from the destruction of the planet warranted so much as a mention. At any rate, I couldn't find anything about the report in the paper at all, and I got as far as page 56.  I could have actually bought a copy, I suppose, and checked more thoroughly, but that would surely have been taking things a bit too far.

OK, so we already knew that the planet was in a bad way, but we're talking here about an authoritative, well-researched international report which clearly states that the survival of the human race is in imminent danger. The fact that it has been given such a relatively low profile in the news media says much about the capacity - or rather, incapacity - of humanity to respond to this crisis. An immense concerted effort from us all is required if planetary disaster is to be averted, yet not only can't we be bothered to make such an effort, we don't even feel it's necessary to make sure that everyone knows it's needed.

If you read this blog regularly, you may have gleaned from the occasional comment I've made that I believe - or at any rate hope - that the human race will shortly undergo a subtle transformation, that we're in for a consciousness upgrade, from a mindset in which we care mainly about ourselves and our own selfish needs and desires to one in which we come to perceive ourselves more as an integral part of the human race and the universe, in which we 'widen our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty', as Albert Einstein put it. For as Einstein presciently warned: 'we shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive'.

The reasons why I 'believe' in this transformation are several:

1) Starting with what some might see as the 'wacky' side of things: there are numerous prophecies - including the fact that the Mayan calendar ends mysteriously in 2012 - which suggest that either the end of the world or a new golden age will occur at this time. Being a natural skeptic, I wouldn't give much credence to these were it not for the following:

2) So many resources are now available for personal transformation. I've talked about Deeksha and other resources on this blog. I shall talk about more in the future. Most of these have only emerged in recent years, some having apparently been guarded secretly for millennia, waiting for this time in history to arrive. It is not unreasonable to ask why all these resources have suddenly emerged. Could it be because we are going to need them?

3) And finally, the most compelling reason is the one which echoes the words of Einstein. A transformation is surely required if humanity is to survive.

In a recent article in The Sunday Times, the science fiction writer Brian Aldiss asked the question: 'is human consciousness fit for purpose?' As it stands at present, the answer is clearly  'no'. Our perspective is too self-absorbed and short-termist. We are so entrenched in our present lifestyles that it would take a tsunami and California-style fires on everyone's doorstep to grab enough of our attention to prompt us to take the action that's needed to save ourselves. And if such a thing happened, it would probably already be too late...

So that's the principal reason why I 'believe' in the coming transformation: not because of the prophecies or because there's  a 'new age' category in the bookshop, but because  I'm at heart an optimist and I can't see any other way ahead.  It's as though the prophecies and the planetary crisis are converging synchronistically into the only possible future for the human race: a future of transformation.

Only when we come to think of ourselves as first and foremost an integral part of the human race and the universe at large, rather than as separate entities in competition with each other, will we have the perspective needed to sit down as one and work together to find a way out of this mess. Even then, the road ahead will not be an easy one.

But at least we'll be in with a chance.