Chapter
1. Peace Wishes
The PeaceKids knew that everything they did to try to make the world a better
place, whether it was big or small, made a difference. This brought them hope
and gave them the courage to keep trying, even during those times when things
didn't seem very hopeful.
But they always dreamed that someday they would focus on the big picture. They
wished and longed For a Culture of Peace - a time when the world worked together
to make life better for everyone.
People admired the things that the PeaceKids were doing. But everyone told the
PeaceKids that Peace On Earth was an impossible dream. "Money is what makes the
world go round," they were told, "and there's no way you're going to change that!"
But
the PeaceKids believed that everything would change, if the world decided to try
to bring peace on earth. If only people could see how wonderful it would be if
the world lived in peace, they would want the world to be that way. If only they
could believe that it was possible, they would want to work together to achieve
it.
The PeaceKids thought that if the world could live in peace for just one day,
people would realize that peace on earth could be possible. Then the world would
join together to try to make it so, one day at a time. That's why they worked
so hard each year to try to spread the idea of a day of peace. They concentrated
on two special peace days -- the International Day of Peace on September 21, and
One Day In Peace on January 1.
But the world is so big and the old ways of doing things has been done for so
very long, that the PeaceKids knew it practically was an impossible dream to bring
peace even for a day.
The PeaceKids thought that their dream of peace on earth would be easier to achieve
if they had some money. After all, they had lots of ideas, and they knew that
other people had lots more. The PeaceKids understood that you didn't need money
at all to change inside, and that's where peace really has to start. But in order
to bring change to the whole world, something has to inspire a whole lot of people
at the same time. And unfortunately, most of the ideas of things that might do
that would cost a lot of money.
The PeaceKids even dreamed once about finding a peace treasure that would bring
them all the money they needed to put their peace plans into actions. But they
realized it was a silly wish to imagine that one person would give them a huge
chunk of money to help build up a giant Peace Industry.
But the money for the Peace Industry is coming, thanks to the PeaceKids. It's
coming not from one person, but from a lot of different people in a lot of different
ways. And it really all started a week later, at the very next PeaceKids Club
meeting.
Chapter 2: Peace Factory
Cheyenne was visiting her Grandfather, and she told him all about the dream the
PeaceKids had shared the week before. She knew that he knew how important dreams
were, especially peace dreams.
Grandfather PeaceDreamer was very excited about their dream. A smile spread across
his face. "Yes, Cheyenne! You're talking about creating a 'peace economy' - and
that would surely help to create a culture of peace."
They talked about the war industry and the violence in our books, movies, television
shows, video games and music. "If only we could grow the Peace Industry so that
it was as big as all the money that is put into violence, people would have a
real choice," Cheyenne sighed.
"If
we can dream about The Peace Industry and creating a peace economy," Grandfather
said quietly, "then we can create it," he assured Cheyenne. "I would love to dream
more about this with you all. May I join your PeaceKids Club meeting this afternoon?"
Cheyenne
was thrilled about the idea of Grandfather coming to their weekly PeaceKids Club
meeting. He had joined them once before, and they had a wonderful adventure together
in Cyberspace.
"I'm
sure everyone would love it if you came!" Cheyenne told her Grandfather.
And she was
right. 'Oh hi, Grandfather PeaceDreamer," the PeaceKids exclaimed when they had
all materialized into Cyberspace together and the weekly meeting of their PeaceKids
Club had been called to order.
They all hugged Cheyenne's Grandfather and were excited about the idea of dreaming
more about The Peace Industry.
Grandfather had them all sit in a circle, and they closed their eyes and let their
minds focus on the dream of peace on earth that they all shared.
After a short while they heard a sound they'd heard before, last time Grandfather
joined them. It sounded like flapping wings, and when they opened up their eyes,
they saw the giant peace eagle they had ridden on before.
They loved riding on its back last time and were thrilled when Grandfather helped
them to climb aboard once again.
"Well,
where should we go?" Grandfather asked.
The PeaceKids weren't sure. They had some ideas about The Peace Industry, but
they weren't sure where to start.
But that's okay, because the peace eagle knew where their dreams would take them.
It turned its mighty head back and whispered in Grandfather's ear.
"www.ThePeaceFactory.net"Grand-father
said to Ahmed. Ahmed was the PeaceKids Club secretary and he typed the web address
onto his laptop. Suddenly the emptiness of Cyberspace seemed to dissolve away,
and the PeaceKids discovered they were flying up in the sky above endless rolling
hills and mountains and rivers through a blue, blue sky. It was wonderful.
They soared
and gazed down upon the gorgeous landscape. It was like the best and most amazing
rollercoaster ride they could imagine.
After a while they noticed they were heading down towards a large building with
a cluster of smaller buildings around it that overlooked a breathtakingly beautiful
mountain ridge. It was in the middle of a clearing amidst the tall majestic trees
of a noble forest. There were colorful flags flying in the breeze everywhere.
Beside the buildings was a huge garden. There were some people outside in the
garden and they greeted the PeaceKids when they landed.
"Hello, Grandfather Peace Dreamer!"
their hosts laughed, hugging Grandfather dearly. "Welcome to The Peace Factory,"
they said to the Peace Kidz after Grandfather had told them that they were on
a Peace Dream together.
"We're
just getting ready for our Peace Festival," the PeaceKids were told. "We'd love
for you to join us."
The PeaceKids thought it was a great idea and helped their hosts finish preparing
for the huge community peace festival that was about to begin. But first they
went on a tour of The Peace Factory.
They found out that artists, musicians, writers and filmmakers from all around
the world had come to stay for a while at The Peace Factory where they worked
together to create books and CDs and paintings and films about peace on earth.
Through collaborations at The Peace Factory, hundreds of inspiring works of peace
had been created. Under The Peace Factory label, they were being marketed all
around the world to help artists earn their livelihoods creating for peace.
What a wonderful
idea, the PeaceKids thought. Before they knew it, the Peace Festival had begun.
Hundreds of people came from all around to sing and dance and pray together for
peace. It was a wonderful day. The PeaceKids wished they could stay longer, but
when the PeaceEagle returned for them, they knew there was more yet to see in
this PeaceDream they were dreaming together.
"What
an amazing place," the PeaceKids said to Grandfather after they had hugged their
new friends goodbye, and were sailing up above. "Where is this peace factory?"
They wanted to be sure to try to come and visit it again when they were back in
their everyday lives.
"It
doesn't exist yet," Grandfather smiled. "In this Peace Dream, you are all dreaming
dreams that haven't yet come true. Now that you are dreaming them, someday they
can become real, when you share these dreams."
The PeaceKids were even more excited to see what they would dream next. The PeaceEagle
leaned back and whispered the next stop to Ahmed.
"www.peaceonearthmall.com"
Ahmed said as he typed the address onto his laptop.
Chapter 3:Peace On Earth Mall
This next stop in the PeaceKids dream was exciting but a bit overwhelming. They
met so many wonderful people who were selling products and services for a more
peaceful, just and sustainable world. Fortunately the PeaceEagle navigated them
smoothly and easily through the search engine that categorized all of the peace
offerings.
The PeaceKids saw everything they could imagine people would need or want. And
all of the things helped to promote peace, either in the message they shared,
or in the donations that the sellers made to organizations working For a Culture
of Peace.
The PeaceKids knew that people wanted and bought too many things in their lives.
They knew that to create a culture of peace, life needed to become simpler and
people needed to stop wasting so much. But all of the peace products and services
the PeaceKids saw used materials that were recycled or could be used over again.
They were made in ways that tried not to harm the earth, and by people who were
took pride in their work, because they earned a liveable wage at their jobs and
they knew that their work was helping to spread peace and make the world a better
place.
Some of the goods and services were exchanged without money trading hands. Some
people traded services or products outright. Others used local currencies that
weren't based on money at all but were created by communities and were based on
shared resources or community volunteering and other shared activities, products
and services.
The PeaceKids could see that the money that was spent for the products and services
was like peace money, because it was being used to help create a better world.
The
PeaceMall was helping people all around the world to realize that peace could
and should be profitable. This is an important lesson for people to learn, because
many people currently believe that doing good should be its own reward. But in
order to create a culture of peace, people must be able to earn their livelihood
doing things that make the world a better place.
With all this focus on money, the PeaceKids weren't surprised at all that the
next stop in their peace dream was also about money.
Chapter 4: PeaceBank
The PeaceKids weren't sure at all what to expect when they'd heard the web address
of their next destination. At first they expected a giant building with friendly
tellers who handled special peace money. But instead they found it was just a
website.
It looked terribly confusing as money whooshed in and whooshed out through the
web portal. Fortunately one of the dollar bills that zipped by stopped to explain
what was happening.
"I'm
a PeaceBuck," he declared. "All around the world people have decided to take their
money out of traditional banks that keep money circulating in the same old way,
and instead have put their money into The PeaceBank. I know it doesn't look like
much," the PeaceBuck smiled as the PeaceKids looked around with uncertain gazes.
"But the money here in The PeaceBank is used to loan to peace businesses and organizations
that are trying to make the world a better place. When people make a deposit in
The PeaceBank, they know their money will be available whenever they need it.
They can withdraw money anytime online, or send PeaceBucks online to buy things
or pay their bills, or use their PeaceOnEarthCreditCard at stores. But while it's
deposited in The PeaceBank, they know that their money is being used to help create
a better world."
As the PeaceBuck spoke, he took them along with him on a few transactions, showing
them firsthand how money could be used to make the world a better place, when
it was used in the right way. The PeaceKids were amazed at how this single PeaceBuck
circulated around and around, doing good again and again.
The PeaceBuck waved goodbye after they'd returned once again to ThePeaceBank.com
site and the peace eagle had returned for them. "Off to change the world," he
smiled as he was being called on again, and he zipped off on another transaction.
Chapter 5: The Peace Industry
The PeaceKids had seen so very much on this Peace Dream. It was a lot to digest
all at once.
"What's
here, Grandfather Peace Dreamer?" they asked when they'd reached their final destination,
but didn't see anything materializing.
"Well,"
Grandfather laughed. "That's because this web address is your story. The one that
you're going to share with your families and your friends, and other peace dreamers
you'll meet. You'll tell them all about your ideas for growing The Peace Industry
and creating a Peace Economy.
"You
don't need one person to provide all the money that humanity needs to create a
vast Peace Industry. It'll come a little here and a little there as people focus
on the part of the dream that means the most to them. It'll really come together
as people find ways to partner with each other, so that the pieces of the dream
of peace on earth come together as part of a whole."
And so, the PeaceKids adjourned their weekly meeting, and when they got home they
started sharing their ideas. They found that Grandfather was right. Each person
they shared their Dream with really identified with a small part of the dream,
and wanted to concentrate on that specific part.
When the PeaceKids helped them to work with others that were working on other
parts of the dream, that's when things really started moving forward.
Many people
are starting to realize that there are many things we can do with our money to
help create a peace economy so that slowly we can create a culture of peace.
