Can one person really make a difference in creating world peace? According to Sunshine Pa, author and founder of the SiLA community, the answer is a resounding yes. But it doesn’t start with governments, policies, or protests, it starts with you.
World peace isn’t some distant, unrealistic dream reserved for idealists and dreamers. It’s a practical, achievable reality that begins with personal transformation. In his work “The 7 Steps to World Peace,” Sunshine presents a framework that challenges us to rethink what “world peace” actually means and how each of us plays an essential role in creating it.
Redefining World Peace
Before diving into the steps, we need to understand what “world peace” truly means. Sunshine offers a refreshing perspective: your “world” is everything within your dimension of perception, everything you’re aware of. And “peace” is that quality of wholeness, serenity, and harmony you feel within yourself.
This means world peace isn’t just about ending wars between nations. It’s about cultivating peace in your personal world, your relationships, your community, your daily interactions. As Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “You must BE the change you wish to see in the world.”
When you achieve peace in your world, you naturally contribute to the greater peace of all humanity. It’s like dropping a stone in water, the ripples extend far beyond the initial point of impact.
The Three Root Causes of Societal Problems
Before we can build peace, we must understand what’s preventing it. Sunshine identifies three fundamental issues plaguing modern society:
1. Disconnectedness from Our Own Feelings
We live in a culture that teaches us to suppress emotions, to “toughen up,” to push feelings aside. From childhood, many of us learn that showing vulnerability is weakness. But this disconnection comes at a tremendous cost.
When we block uncomfortable feelings like shame, pain, or fear, we inadvertently block all feelings including joy, love, and compassion. We become numb, running from one distraction to another, never truly present in our own lives.
2. Lack of Individual Attention
In our fast-paced, overcrowded world, genuine individual attention has become a rare commodity. Yet attention is one of the most powerful forces in human development.
Sunshine shares his personal story of struggling with dyslexia in Brooklyn public schools, where he was placed in the “slow” class and essentially left behind. It wasn’t until he moved to a different district and received one-on-one attention from a compassionate teacher, Mrs. Rotmann, that everything changed. She didn’t just help him academically, she saw his creativity and potential when others saw only struggle.
Where attention goes, energy flows. The quality of attention we give and receive shapes who we become.
3. Purposelessness
Without a clear sense of purpose, life becomes a hollow pursuit of pleasure and comfort. We drift, seeking the next dopamine hit, the next distraction, the next escape from the uncomfortable question: “Why am I here?”
Purpose isn’t just some abstract philosophical concept, it’s a biological need. As Viktor Frankl discovered in Nazi concentration camps and later developed in his theory of logotherapy, having a meaningful purpose is what keeps humans psychologically healthy and resilient, even in the worst circumstances.
The 7 Steps to World Peace
Now, let’s explore the practical framework for personal and global transformation:
Step 1: Share Your Service with Your Community
You have something unique to offer the world your “shine,” your gifts, your very being. Even as a baby, you provided joy and purpose to those around you simply by existing. As an adult, you have skills, experiences, and a presence that can serve others.
This step is about showing up fully, putting your best foot forward, and committing to always do your best. It’s taking complete responsibility for your contribution to the world. When you genuinely show up with your gifts, you become “super duper useful” and people naturally want to be around you.
Step 2: Utilize Community Services and Give Honest Feedback
World peace is co-created. Just as you offer your service, receive the services of others in your community. But here’s the crucial part: give honest, constructive feedback.
This step builds on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of economic empowerment. By consciously choosing to support people in your community and giving them real, helpful feedback, you water the seeds in your own garden instead of forfeiting your resources to faceless corporations.
Your attention and honesty are like sunlight and water to a growing plant essential for healthy development.
Step 3: Tell Everyone World Peace Is Possible
This isn’t about naive optimism, it’s about spreading a proven paradigm. Just as handwashing became standard practice once people understood germ theory, world peace practices can become cultural norms.
Model the 7 Steps in your own life. Build your tribe of like-minded people. Use these steps as a healthy backbone for your community values. When people see your success, they’ll naturally want to join in.
Step 4: Get Together and Celebrate
What is world peace if not a celebration? Don’t wait for some future utopia to start celebrating life. Every moment is an opportunity for joy.
When your community comes together in harmony to celebrate, world peace is happening right then and there. Through his SiLA community in Los Angeles, Sunshine demonstrates this with comedy nights, human connection classes, and gatherings that bring people together in authentic, joyful ways.
Step 5: Contribute to a Communal Pot Focused on Education
Invest in the next generation. If we teach children the World Peace Paradigm early, humanity could see a generation of leadership so bright that global enlightenment becomes possible.
This isn’t just about taxes and government programs, it’s about maintaining local influence over communal funds and creating opportunities for grassroots, community-driven education initiatives.
Step 6: Take Care of Number One
This might seem counterintuitive in a world peace framework, but it’s actually the most critical step. You are the most important piece of the puzzle.
Sunshine learned this through failure. When he and his friends focused entirely on building community events and helping others, they burned out. They forgot to invest in their own development, and eventually, the whole venture collapsed.
Without inner peace, you cannot create outer peace. Self-care isn’t selfish, it’s essential. This includes meditation, journaling, reading, physical exercise, healthy eating, spending time with loved ones, and pursuing personal growth.
As Stephen Covey said, “Private victories precede public victories.”
Step 7: Practice
The final step is simple but profound: practice. Ideas mean nothing without consistent action.
You won’t be perfect. You’ll fall away from the mission, get distracted by self-centered agendas, or lose sight of your purpose. But the key is coming back—returning to your practices, recommitting to your mission, staying involved in the process.
“Practice makes perfect” doesn’t mean you’ll succeed 100% of the time. It means that when you’re fully involved in the practice, in the present moment, working toward your desired result, that’s what perfect is.
The Path Forward
World peace isn’t achieved through one grand gesture or governmental decree. It’s built through millions of small, daily decisions made by individuals committed to being their best selves.
It starts with feeling your feelings, paying close loving attention to those around you, and living with clear purpose. It requires courage to face your blind spots, humility to keep learning, and persistence to keep practicing even when you fall short.
The most important question isn’t whether world peace is possible—it’s whether you’re willing to be part of the solution. Will you take responsibility for the peace in your world? Will you model the change you wish to see?
As Sunshine reminds us, you don’t need to be chosen by God to make a difference. God has already created you. The key is choosing God—choosing love, joy, peace, and service over fear, disconnection, and selfishness.
Your life, your free will, your self-awareness, your purpose, YOU are the solution the whole world has been waiting for.
Join the Movement
The future isn’t something we wait for, it’s something we create right now, in this moment, through how we show up and how we treat each other. World peace is possible, and it begins with you practicing these seven steps in your daily life.
Are you ready to join the world peace movement? It’s not about perfection, it’s about practice, presence, and genuine commitment to being the best version of yourself while lifting others up along the way.
The time is now. The person is you. Let’s build world peace together, one mindful action at a time.