Burky's Blog

1) It seems to me that peace also has smaller ramifications, not just the global way many folks envision. By that I mean peace can be as simple as taking care of one person at a time. That being said, the short story, The Difference Between Heaven and Hell might fit. You can find the Japanese version in Doorways to the Soul by Elisa Pearmain. It is very short. If you know the basic story in this version the people in hell can't quite reach the tables laden with delicious food. They hold chopsticks three feet long but can't get the chopsticks to their mouths because of their length. There is mayhem and cries of anguish fill the air.

In heaven it is the same scene but they are reaching the chopsticks across the table and feeding each other. Of course, instead of anguish, laughter fills the air. It might work for your needs. 

2) Here is a version I snatched off the web.
A rabbi was talking with God about Heaven and Hell.
"Come," said God. "Walk with me, and I will show you Hell."
And together they walked into a room of cold, rough stone. In the center of the room, atop a low fire, sat a huge pot of quietly simmering stew. The stew smelled delicious, and made the rabbi's mouth water. A group of people sat in a circle around the pot, and each of them held a curiously long-handled spoon. The spoons were long enough to reach the pot; but the handles were so ungainly that every time someone dipped the bowl of their spoon into the pot and tried to maneuver the bowl to their mouth, the stew would spill. The rabbi could hear the grumblings of their bellies. They were cold, hungry, and miserable. 
"And now," God said, "I will show you Heaven."
Together they walked into another room, almost identical to the first. A second pot of stew simmered in the center; another ring of people sat around it; each person was outfitted with one of the frustratingly long spoons. But this time, the people sat with the spoons across their laps or laid on the stone beside them. They talked, quietly and cheerfully with one another. They were warm, well-fed, and happy. 
"Lord, I don't understand," said the rabbi. "How was the first room Hell; and this, Heaven?"
God smiled. "It's simple," he said. "You see, they have learned to feed each other."
•••••

3) I've heard/told it as a very devout man asking to see heaven and hell, and traveling with an angel in a blur of colors and sounds -- in hell everyone is starving because their elbows won't bend (I've also heard long chopsticks); then heaven, which at first looks the same, but all are happy because . . . They are feeding each other.

It's one of my favorites. I used it early in the school year to emphasize the importance of helping one another. At one of the conferences someone used it in a keynote to symbolize our storytelling community, then went on to talk about the complaining and fussing -- and then emphasized that regardless of the personality conflicts, we still feed each other.