Think Strategically 

In the rest of this study guide, you will be defining as well as answering your own questions more than you will be answering my questions.

That starts with the fact that it is hard to help readers integrate those three themes given the way books are written (readers of a certain age my see that point if they ever read a book-like document that was written in Hypercard).

Still, to get the most our of Peacebuilding Starts at Home and truly take me up on my invitation, you have to do so. Therefore, here are some prompts that will help you combine the ideas in those three streams into your own peacebuilding strategy that you and the people you know can put into practice.

Use the material in the first two chapters to define where you want to take our country and our planet

Then, start and/or ramp up the “inner work” that can turn you into a better preacebuilder in the “microcosm” of your daily life. Ask how your everyday activities can contribute (more) to mutual understanding, cooperative problem solving, social progress, and the like. In short, develop your own daily peacebuilding practice, knowing that you can always get better at it.

Define what you can do in your community (and, if possible, beyond) to explicitly work for peace while also pivoting in ways that make it easier for you to take other wicked problems into account.

Determine how you can do your part in “spreading ideas worth spreading.” What is your personal and professional network like? How can you help show the people you know that it makes sense for them to think and act differently, too?

Remember that peace and justice will never be “one and done.” Just as one election or policy cannot magically cure social strife, one good conversation or practice at home does not mark the end of growth. The work is perpetual, often invisible, but it can make all the difference in the long run.

Think big. Understand that you are part of a paradigm shift or even the next stage in human evolution. Avoid what psychologists call a savior complex in which you “convince” yourself that you are responsible for doing it all. Instead, figure out how best you can both draw satisfaction and inspiration from the successes that you have and that you see others having in your communities.