Chapter
12: Inspiring a better world
Her
charismatic charm was irresistible. The Board members agreed to convene a full
Board Meeting, but we'd have to be a non-profit organization in order to be associated
with them in some capacity. I
immediately suggested that we call a friend back in the States who ran a nonprofit.
"We can go under their umbrella. Artie, Maya and I co-directed our Peace Bus under
that nonprofit's umbrella, and we had a great relationship!" Angel didn’t rule it out, necessarily. She suggested that she research it and then
we could make a decision. “Besides,” she
said, “we’re not ruling out ONE DAY IN
PEACE but we agreed to focus on the PEACE ON EARTH MOVEMENT for now, remember...”
She was amazing with the Board. When
she suggested that we would pay to create permanent dormitories for the students
at UPaz as well as fund all of the materials for the courses, the Board unanimously
agreed to allow the Peace On Earth Arts Center to work with the University.
While construction was underway, we set out interviewing the teachers. We solicited the top experts in each of the
art fields -- the best writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers and scriptwriters.
We also set up a global contest for students to submit proposals to create
books, movies, plays, musical albums or TV scripts with the theme of “The Peace
On Earth Movement.” We offered a six month
scholarship at the University for Peace, with a guarantee to help the artist get
their work out in the world and get paid to create works of peace. We
got the word out to college campuses and through networks of activists and asked
them to let their members know about this unique opportunity. Within a month we had flown in the one hundred
student winners from all over the world, and made over a thousand grants to others
who’d share through an online workshop forum.
It was amazing how this multi-national group developed into a real community. They ate together, talked and laughed and dreamed.
They shared their ideas and nurtured each other.
Some worked alone; some formed teams. They
worked in different media and had very different visions, but they were all filled
with passion and started to really believe that we would change the world.
Once it got going, word started to spread and we’d have an occasional celebrity
stop by and share their expertise. More
often than not, the celebrity would become inspired by the creative energy for
peace that was all around them.
I can’t describe how thrilling it was for me to be part of this creative
energy and to know that I had Angel to thank for helping this all come to be. Her passion and drive inspired me, and helped
me to be closer to the person I wanted to be inside. I found myself full of ideas -- I used to be
a writer, a long time ago -- I suddenly found I could create again, and for the
first time in so long, I felt almost complete.
I mean, I really believed I was “Mr Positivity” before, but it was from
afar, and it was with the crutch of needing to be removed from the world in order
to feel positive about it. But now, I was an active part of a vibrant community,
and I felt alive for the first time. I
felt like Angel had introduced me to myself. In
a way she saved my life.
I was still trying to figure out the complex feelings I had about her,
and had no clue about how she felt about me. But
I knew we shared a deep friendship and I was perfectly content with that.
It was the on the 50th day since we’d met that another amazing woman resurfaced
into my life. We had arranged a special
conference of indigenous elders from around the world, and who should turn up
but my dear friend, Maya Amaru GrandVisions.
When I heard about what Maya and Artie had been doing, I cried for joy. She promised that she and Artie, too, would
work closely with us, now that we’d reconnected. I felt as if my life had come full circle.
Only things were even better now. I
knew for certain that the angels were all around us, guiding us closer and closer
to a world of peace. Previous Chapter | Next Chapter Table of Contents | Preface | Ch 1
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