Chapter
1. Peace Wishes
The BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld
Kids were doing. But everyone told the
BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids
knew it practically was an impossible
dream to bring peace even for a day.
The BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld
Kids. 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 BetterWorld Kids Club meeting.
Chapter 2: Peace
Factory
Cheyenne was visiting her Grandfather,
and she told him all about the dream
the BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids Club
meeting this afternoon?"
Cheyenne was thrilled about the idea
of Grandfather coming to their weekly
BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids
exclaimed when they had all materialized
into Cyberspace together and the weekly
meeting of their BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld
Kids Club secretary and he typed the
web address onto his laptop. Suddenly
the emptiness of Cyberspace seemed to
dissolve away, and the BetterWorld Kids
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 BetterWorld Kids when they landed.
"Hello,
Grandfather Peace Dreamer!" their hosts
laughed, hugging Grandfather dearly.
"Welcome to The Peace Factory," they
said to the Peace Kids after Grandfather
had told them that they were on a Peace
Dream together.
"We're
just getting ready for our Peace Festival,"
the BetterWorld Kids were told. "We'd
love for you to join us."
The BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld
Kids 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 BetterWorld
Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids
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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids
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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld
Kids weren't surprised at all that the
next stop in their peace dream was also
about money.
Chapter 4: PeaceBank
The BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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
BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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 BetterWorld Kids 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.
