Worldwide Prosperity Is Possible: Some Suggested Steps Toward It

Prosperity worldwide is possible.

We can achieve it by following the correct path. Below I list numerous specific steps we can take to progress toward success.

Specific Steps Toward Worldwide Prosperity

We can seek to reconcile differences fairly and peacefully instead of fighting wars.

We can rebuild broken relationships via cards, letters, phone calls, emails, etc.

We can plant trees instead of complaining about impure air.

We can work productively at beneficial careers instead of being lazy.

If “retired,” we can do volunteer work locally, nationally, and/or internationally.

We can treat all persons fairly instead of practicing discrimination.

We can practice love instead of hatred.

We can smile instead of frowning.

We can avoid abusing legal and illegal drugs, including alcohol and tobacco.

We can seek to avoid risky behaviors like reckless driving, working unsafely, etc.

We can help one another instead of hindering.

We can practice sexual abstinence until marriage instead of selfish, sexual lust.

We can drink more water and less cola, beer, and coffee.

We can be content with what we have or ask for help instead of stealing.

We can share with the needy while encouraging them to work to better themselves.

We can donate to charity instead of spending money on piercings and tattoos.

We can be truthful instead of lying.

We can read helpful books, enjoy nature hikes, and apply what we learn to help others.

We can seek to use all our time wisely, which includes getting proper rest.

We can celebrate the successes of others without being jealous.

We can eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds, less junk food.

We can exercise by walking and/or bicycling while driving automobiles less.

When reasonable, we can use mass transit instead of driving in traffic.

We can put the highest righteous authority (which I call God) first, not human desires.

Closing Thoughts

My suggestions are just suggestions. You may share ideas to add to my list or share alternatives to some of them.

But, as I see it, a key is for us to genuinely seek to make ourselves better persons, more productive, and thus improve not just ourselves but those we contact and the entire world, as we work together toward a better planet.

Prosperity already exists in many areas. The June 2022 photo below I took on a visit to Chicago’s Riverwalk depicts what may be a flourishing area. But even in Chicago (and other successful places), sections are not prosperous. Huge disparities exist. We need to work for better locally wherever we are, as well as globally.

Indeed, it may be appropriate that I am writing this article on September 21, the annual International Day of Peace as noted by an article on the United Nations website and other media sources. One of the greatest wastes in the world is the waste that comes from war. Expenditures on military weaponry that could be used more constructively are a tragedy. Added to this are the enormous damage and destruction of property and persons in wars, as well as the loss of hours of time humans expend in the production, transportation, and use of military weaponry.

On a smaller scale, conflicts between friends and relatives take a negative toll on us.

But we can do better.

Human selfishness, greed may deter us from implementing constructive suggestions to improve things for us on this planet.

But all the suggestions I’ve mentioned are humanly possible if we genuinely seek to do them under the leadership of the highest righteous power, which I call God. Let’s seek to make improvements. Will you help?

Is Peace on Earth Possible? Yes!

World Peace Is Possible and Desirable
Yes, peace on Earth is possible. It is also desirable. The real question ought not be "Is peace on Earth possible?," but "Why doesn't peace on Earth exist?" I explain more about this below.

With all the violence that takes place on Earth, many think it is unrealistic to expect peace to ever occur. But, can you imagine what this world would be like if there were no wars or violent conflicts? Persons would live longer, since deaths due to violence would cease. We would enjoy a higher standard of living because the time, money, material resources, and energy spent on wars could be used in more constructive ways. Persons would be happier and less fearful, since we would not need to worry about being attacked by others.

Indeed, given all the benefits from peace, it seems ludricous that we humans have not already figured out a way to resolve our differences peacefully and fairly to avoid all the problems of war. Unfortunately, greed, laziness, jealousy, etc., lead to conflicts.

The key to achieving world peace is to teach persons from childhood the importance of working honestly for their needs, not to be greedy, lazy, or jealous. And to help others in need.

Children (and adults) can learn ways to resolve conflicts fairly and peacefully. Taking time to think about the other person's point of view and to listen to the other person express how they feel, can go a long way toward understanding them and how best to resolve a situation fairly.

Some Reasons for International Conflicts
At the international level, conflicts can arise because some nations are blessed in ways others are not. For example, some nations are blessed with a wonderful climate and soil that enables the growing of huge quantities of food. Certain nations are blessed with a huge supply of valuable natural resources such as oil, natural gas, gold, silver, and so on.

Often those in poorer nations are jealous of those in wealthier ones. This leads to conflicts and potentially wars. Indeed, nations such as the United States that are blessed with an abundance of resources often devote a substantial part of their resources toward a military budget to prevent being attacked by other nations.

A great tragedy is that many nations that already have abundant resources (such as the United States and Russia) use their economic and military power to intimidate other nations into granting them favorable terms on resources. For example, the United States has used various forms of intimidation to ensure getting abundant oil from Middle Eastern nations at relatively cheap prices.
Small nations with limited resources are often basically at the mercy of larger more prosperous nations. The United States has invaded countries in Central and South America several times for various reasons.

Small nations with limited resources can seek help from other nations to build a coalition. And the United Nations is one resource that various nations turn to in an effort to resolve conflicts. But nations such as the United States with vast military and economic resources often act unilaterally--or build their own multilateral coalitions.

Alhough I've used the United States repeatedly as an example of a powerful nation abusing its power, there are other powerful nations that have done the same. Germany under Hitler in World War II, Russia and the Soviet Union during the last century, and European powers that colonized Africa and America are other examples.

An Optimistic Perspective for the Future
But, I optimistically think that over the long term peace will come to be. As travel internationally becomes cheaper and easier, it enables persons from various countries to travel more easily to visit other nations. They can learn from one another and potentially understand one another better.

Advances in communications such as cheaper telephone service and the Internet make international communication far easier now than even a generation ago. Cell phone videos and pictures, Facebook, Twitter, etc., enable atrocities to be broadcast internationally as they occur or soon afterward in many cases. These advances, as well as organizations like the UN and NATO, permit actions that weren't feasible a century ago. These make the establishment of world peace more likely in this generation than any other in centuries. Indeed, while definitive data on deaths from war and violent conflicts are not readily available, the website OurWorldIndata.org offers indications that the trend may be toward decreases in deaths from conflicts in the 21st century compared to past centuries.

Maybe peace on Earth will occur before the end of the 21st century, and we will hear bells tolling peace on Earth in various locations around the world, including a tolling of peace of the World Peace Bell in Newport, Kentucky, which is pictured below.         

This World Peace Bell in Newport, Kentucky serves as a nice symbol. I would love to hear it ringing in honor of world peace some day. The bell "is the world's largest swinging bell" according to free information sheets about the bell that were located near it during my visit to see it in 2017.

I hope the world will never endure another catastrophic war such as World War II or another genocide like Rwanda. And I believe much progress has been made and is being made. But we still have a long way to go.