“You will go straight to paradise” said the dry-cleaner after he heard our story. It made me smile. Oh, what a consolation! He is a devout muslim and a very sweet man. He spoke with complete conviction. His unquestioning faith was pure, transparent and other worldly. Very endearing indeed.

I looked up the word ‘paradise’ and this is what it means: heaven, as the final abode of the righteous; an intermediate place for the departed souls of the righteous awaiting resurrection; a place of extreme beauty, delight, or happiness;
a state of supreme happiness and bliss.

It has been my belief that heaven and hell exist here on earth. They exist in our internal environment and our state of mind. They are not beyond this world. They are both present in the here and now. We move between the two at various times to varying degrees. Often they are our own creations and sometimes we feel they have arisen due to other people.

For me, the ultimate responsibility for our heaven and hell lies with us.

This evening a friend phoned to say she had gathered a lot of useful information from this blog. It had helped her gain a deeper understanding of her teenage daughter. She felt she was more aware as a person, parent and neighbour. She thanked me profusely for this as she knew many others who have found it helpful in one way or another.

There were tears in my eyes as I held the phone to my ear. To be able to touch someone’s life – this must be paradise.

My son lived in paradise and he still does.