One evening, I was scrolling through MSN and saw headline after headline filled with threats, conflict, and fear. China was warning its neighbors. North Korea was testing missiles. Russia and Ukraine were at war. Israel and Hamas were trading blows. NATO and Russia stood nose-to-nose. It felt like the world was teetering on the edge.

As someone in my 60s, I’ve lived through the Cold War. The fear of nuclear conflict is not new to me. Back then, I accepted that if a launch ever came, I might not survive — but if I did, would I really want to live in the kind of broken world that followed? For a time, things seemed to calm. The biggest powers started playing nicer. But lately, that peace has felt more like a pause than a true change.

What weighed on me wasn’t fear for myself. I’m in the last third of my life. But my children and grandchildren still have so much ahead of them. I thought of my son as a little boy, running into my arms shouting “Daddy’s home!” And now, my grandsons do the same — “PaPaw, PaPaw!” That feeling of love, of purpose — it’s the most important thing in the world to me. And I know I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Reading those headlines, I couldn’t help but wonder: What kind of world are we leaving behind? Will my grandchildren grow up in chaos? Will they be safe? Will they forget the love we shared if the world grows too hard to carry it?

That’s when I realized I had to try — even if I’m just one person with limited resources and a few health setbacks. Because maybe, just maybe, someone else feels the same. And maybe, if enough of us speak up, something can change.

This project — this book — was born from that hope. From a simple plea made up of two small words:

Just Stop.

Just stop hurting each other. Just stop prioritizing power over people. Just stop building walls and start building bridges. Just stop acting alone when we’re stronger together. We all want the same things — safety, love, peace, and purpose. If we could pause long enough to see that in one another, imagine what we could build.

Not just for our countries.

But for our children.

And for the stars beyond.