Seven Actions to Create Peace on Earth
David Gershon
ACTION 1
A Critical Mass of Dream Keepers
Share the Story With Your Network and Invite Them to Do the Same
The starting point for creating peace on earth is a critical mass of people who believe it is possible. As I took my tentative first steps to create the First Earth Run I encountered my share of cynics who said there was no way we could pull this off, and even if we did, the world was too far gone to make any difference. It was painful to experience such hopelessness. Fortunately, that was not the norm. Most people told me the First Earth Run gave them hope for the future and many wished to help. They did so in numerous ways from organizing torch lighting ceremonies in their communities, to contributing financially, to praying for our success. They were Dream Keepers. They believed in our future and were willing to take action to bring it into existence.
The First Earth Run is a planetary scale teaching story of how what seemed impossible, slowly became possible as more and more people around the world starting believing in it. How will we ever get the world to believe that humanity’s greatest aspiration—peace on earth—could be possible? It requires Dream Keepers. To activate Dream Keepers they need to see how their dream can manifest. This first action invites you to become a keeper of this great dream for humankind and provides you a means to help bring it into reality.
It is so simple it can be done in a few minutes; and so powerful it will send a transformative signal across the planet that keeps rippling through time and space. With the Internet we don’t need to run around the world with fire to empower a critical mass of humanity to belief that peace on earth is possible. In an e-mail and/or social media post invite your network to watch the inspiring First Earth Run video and take this action and others that inspire them. Share your dream with them so they know why you are doing this. Our dreams are contagious and light a fire within others.If enough of us take this action, within a short time a planetary unitive field will be created of people envisioning and creating peace on earth. This will cause a new belief to emerge that we can create the world we want! We will create the world we want! It will be! And then watch our collective dream turn into our reality! Who says one person doesn’t make a difference!
We Carry the Torch
Bob Bagar
We carry the torch. Not for any special interest, cause or movement, but as a mission of the heart. The torch passed hand to hand, will wreath the earth with a fragile band of light.
We carry the torch. For ourselves, friends, loved ones, the people of the world and our neighbors in the global village, that all might be linked by sharing a commitment to the future of the world and its children.
We carry the torch. We can rejoice in the knowledge that no one is better qualified than we are for the task. With this torch brandished high, we can joust with gods, vanquish fear, rout despair and flash it as a beacon to light all the days ahead.
We carry the torch. We carry it also to honor others who have come before us. Who held it fast – for a precious moment to keep the spark alive before passing the torch now burning brighter with the passion of their conviction.
Of David, there will be one salient line written in the history books. It will say: “He brought a torch around the world in the 20th century. He would not let us lay it down.” Yet he, too, knows the vision is not his alone; it is ours for safekeeping.
If enough of us come to the realization that, “We want to make it,” the world will resonate with that truth. If we want the journey to continue, a new resolve will manifest itself. The torch dramatizes a decision we each must face alone. When we affirm the light, a subtle change occurs. We change from passive observer of the miracle of life, to a champion of its sanctity. When that happens we begin to mobilize others and the balance shifts in favor of survival.
If the First Earth Run does nothing more than bring a quorum of the world’s people to the simple affirmation, that we care, that will make the difference. It will be enough of a difference to preserve the future.
This torch is become our mind, our heart, our voice. The stirring accents of the First Earth Run anthem can be heard to the accompaniment of footfalls beating softly on the earth’s outer rim, echoing footfalls of other ears back to the beginning of time.
Let them say of this generation:
They had enough strength to carry the torch, enough courage to venture forth. The immensity of the journey did not deter them. There were a multitude of willing hands to sustain them.
Come ... let us finish this work. Let us celebrate together. Let us come to the banquet table where candles will be bright. Where there will be song and hearts will be filled.
Come to the feast as neither king nor artisan, warrior nor savant, scribe nor patriarch. Come only as a torchbearer. As one of those who brought the light and was strong enough to cross the borders of the night.
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May those of us living in the 21st century be known in the history of our planet as the ones who created peace on earth! I wish us all God speed on this momentous journey.
ACTION 7
The World Heart
Pray For and Become Peace on Earth
A number of people I approached to participate in the First Earth Run spontaneously began praying for my success. In the Netherlands a woman created thousands of peace candles with the First Earth Run torch logo and invited people to put them in their windows each night and pray for us. Many did this devotedly for the 86 days of the First Earth Run to show their support. Variations on this theme happened all over the world. I am convinced that the many people praying for us across the planet contributed to our success.
Praying for peace on earth creates a powerful collective intention. It is through our intentions that our world comes into existence. It also fills our heart and mind enabling us to be a person of peace. When the torch of peace went to Thailand, Buddhist monks greeted us in meditation holding the sign: “A peaceful world begins with a peaceful mind.”
Every day millions of people pray for peace on earth using the prayer “May Peace Prevail on Earth.” As a way to keep this prayer in our minds and hearts, Gail and I planted a peace pole in our yard with this prayer in English, Chinese, Arabic and Hopi.
In 2001 the United Nations General Assembly designated September 21st as the International Day of Peace. Millions of people around the world participate in prayer vigils on that day. Consider organizing a prayer vigil in your faith-based group or community on this day. To learn more, visit www.idpvigil.com. To take this action further, be one of the people who keeps the world safe by praying for peace on earth each morning upon awakening. Then, like the First Earth Run, watch how peace on earth shows up in your world.
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Is peace on earth humanity’s destiny? I deeply believe it is. Why? We know in our soul as a species that we are primed for deep transformation to occur at this time. There are so many people of good will connected that it only needs a few of us to light a global fire. These seven actions for creating peace on earth have proven they can ignite such a global fire. It is my fervent hope that you will choose to be one of those people willing to carry the torch to help make peace on earth a reality. If not you, who? If not now, when? I leave you with a poem that deeply inspired those of us in the First Earth Run to carry the torch in this epic quest to fulfill humanity’s destiny on this planet.
ACTION 6
Blessed Are the Peace Makers
Support Those Creating Peace on Earth
While there is a lot we can do personally to further peace on earth, some things require organizations dedicated to this undertaking. We had the good fortune during the First Earth Run to partner with the United Nations Children’s Fund and their visionary leader Jim Grant. It was very gratifying to contribute to their noble mission by raising millions of dollars for children suffering from the ravages of war. We were told that it was equally gratifying for them to experience our support. We were like the cavalry bringing fresh reinforcements to these intrepid souls on the peacemaking front lines.
While peace on earth is humanity’s most noble aspiration, when push comes to shove most people on the planet feel it is just not attainable. But what if it was? What if working for peace on earth was a natural way of life? What if the peacemakers were so supported by the rest of us they had abundant success in their mission? What if mother’s told their children that one day they could be a great peacemaker and this became the definition of a super hero?
The peacemakers are our planet’s healers. The more we help them, the more they can heal the differences in our world. The more they heal that which separates us; the better will be the world we inhabit. It is a virtuous spiral. This action invites you to support an organization in your community or somewhere in the world practicing the skills needed to create peace on earth.
How do you find such an organization? Look for the ones teaching people how to befriend the other. Find those who believe in the oneness of humankind. Seek out those who honor the dignity of each human being. While many organizations may espouse these sentiments you will be able to discern the true peacemakers by the outcomes they achieve.
Where they exist, the world is more whole. Where they practice their craft, people feel more in harmony with themselves and those around them. When you come into their presence you feel better about yourself. They are the planet’s true peacemakers. Bless them with your support and learn from them. And if you find an organization that aspires to achieve this but is falling short, use these seven actions to help them become who they wish to be.