Following the launch and Success of “Blanket Earth Walks The World”  at the Halloween Carnival Parade in Derry/Londonderry City Northern Ireland on 31st October 2011′  to tens of thousands of spectators …. I am more than pleased to announce the second walk ~ Dublin City.

At 1.00pm Tuesday 14th Febuary on St Valentines Day 2012′ at Trinity College Dublin ”Blanket Earth Walks The World” will take the next baby steps (weather permitting ) … Many people will carry the giant centre piece measuring 340 ft long and 9 ft wide up Grafton St and down Dawson St including two additional pieces created and designed by the school girls at Thornhill College,Derry City Northern Ireland and  The Sacred Heart Girls College Napier New Zealand … The two additional pieces with the words “Love” could be appropriate for the theme of St Valentines Day.

Any members of the public wishing to sign it can do so at The Gaiety Theatre from Tuesday 7th February on South King Street Dublin 2.

We hope to take the two “Love” pieces on a lap of honour around Ireland before they make their way across the English Channel to join up with the main piece on the third walk in Cardiff representing Wales on Saturday 4th August 2012′.

On Sunday 12th August 2012′ we are in London for the greatest show on Earth and that is the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games and we hope to add some flavour two hours before with walk number four … following this the Blanket will make its way to Edinburgh to the comedy festival and this will conclude walk number five representing Scotland before the Blanket leaves the British Isles on its epic journey around the world growing bigger and bigger as it moves forward.

The final size of the Blanket is estimated to be 1.5 times the size of Wembley Stadium and will take 12 yrs to complete with over 600 schools invited to participate in the project globally.

Every school is requested to help a charity of their choice and create and design a piece of Blanket on a heavy calico piece measuring 6 metres in lenght and three metres in width …  choosing one of six words - Love-Hope-Change-Kindness-Peace-Happiness.

The logistics of the project is huge and requires many to help out along the way … Our first Blanket Earth bus will hopefully be launched God willing in the Southern Hemisphere early 2013′ with the aim of pushing the project forward with International Volunteers.

Our first big presentation God willing will be the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro Brazil 2016′.

It is estimated that the worlds largest blanket will help over two thousand charities with up to a billion signatures on its completion by 2024′.

I remind people over and over again that this project is not about money .. the world has plenty of money and look at the mess its in … this project is about bringing a crucial message to the world and helping our fellow man .. We are currently in the greatest Spiritual Bankruptcy since man crushed grapes and this is a fact.

May your dreams unfold like the wings of a butterfly.

First and foremost I wish to extend my gratitude to the schools and the school children in Thornhill College,Drumragh Integrated College,Scoil Mhuire,St Columba’s College,Deele College,Finn Valley College and the Royal and Prior here in Ireland.

I wish to extend my gratitude to the directors Daithi Ring(Australia) and Charlene Bleakley (Northern Ireland) … To the staff at Pricewaterhouse&Coopers global accountancy firm … To Micheal Brennan spiritual advisor … To Mitch Michelle Dunne creative advisor … To Melvin Yanes film production … To Neal Early  Printpoint … To  over six thousand small businesses across the globe and to various Corporate Sponsors … To the media in so many countries and to the tens of thousands of people that have already signed the Blanket.

 The signatures and donations have helped the sick children at The Royal Hospital in Belfast  …  The sick children at Atnagelvin Hospital in Derry/Londonderry …The Haven Hostel for problem street drinkers and homeless in John St Derry/Londonderry … Hurt/Zest/Lifeline/Samaritans/St Vincent de Paul Society/Salvation Army/Red Cross/Rainbow Centre/Capuchin Day Centre/White Oaks/Care for Cancer/Tuam Cancer/Hands that talk/Sister Deidre Mullens etc etc etc !.

Last but not least I get on my knees now every morning and bow my head and give thanks to the Lord for the countless Blessings everyday.

One single moment can change our life forever. I am living proof of that.

I have been asked many times about how this crazy idea started of travelling around the world and piecing together the world’s largest blanket. To this day I haven’t really told the full story as it always seemed a bit weird and I was afraid people would think I was some kind of crazy man. Today I want to share that story.

In 2000 I went to Australia, to the other side of the world, to recover from alcoholism. I was a hopeless case and couldn’t stop drinking. I settled on the central coast and joined Alcoholics Anonymous and made many new friends. They became my family. My recovery wasn’t easy, however for the first two years it was made easier by the fact that I managed to help many other sufferers of this insidious disease along the way. It helped me to stay sober whenever I brought another sick person into a rehab or detox clinic or even to a hospital for that matter.

I worked my program 24/7. I bought a little cream station wagon and cleaned a few windows and signs in order to get a little pocket money to pay for my rental on a wee caravan with an annex attached. I was very blessed to have my wee caravan. I got sober in one of the most beautiful places in Australia and I could hear the sounds of the ocean most nights as I fell asleep on a futon mattress in the annex.

After two years of recovery I decided to take a journey to Byron Bay. One thing led to another and before long I was working as a mystic on an amazing beach under two palm trees, teaching and healing people from all walks of life. It was an amazing journey in itself and the letters of gratitude kept coming as I spoke about God and my recovery, how beautiful life was and how you should keep reaching for your dreams and stay positive.

I had total peace inside. I could share the wisdom I had gained from my experiences, and meanwhile I myself was being supported by my AA family and continued meetings. I moved around and eventually made my way up north and found myself helping to save a teenage girl who wanted to take her own life. This took me in another direction and left me with a very serious decision to make. Do I stay in Australia illegally to continue my healing work, or do I leave the country and return to the booming Celtic Tiger? My visa was running out and the government wasn’t going to renew it, but I decided to follow my heart. I broke the law and continued on my journey.

People came out of the woodwork.  They just seemed to find me and I ended up in Cairns working with all kinds of people. They said I had a gift, yet I knew deep within me it wasn’t my gift but God’s.

After a few months though, the guilt about over-staying my visa started to get the better of me. Even though I was broke and didn’t want to leave, I decided to return to the Central Coast, sell my car, pack my few things from my caravan and pull out of Australia.

I had just gotten back to the caravan park when the motor of my car blew up. I had nothing to sell for my ticket. I found Don, the owner of the park, had had a stroke and was now in a wheel chair, so I decided to stay on and help him out while I tried to raise some funds for my return to Ireland.

One day I borrowed a bicycle and rode 12 kms over to Erina Fair to see if some old clients wanted their shopfronts cleaned. I attached my bucket, extension rod, and some cleaning cloths to the bike and took off towards Erina. It was a hot and steamy day and I felt like a great fool on a pushbike cycling 12km to drum up work. When I got to Erina I spotted a homeless man sitting on a wall and stopped to talk to him. He reminded me of where I was back in 1999, homeless. I gave him my last five dollars and continued on my way. I spent all day trying to drum up some work but had no success.

Totally deflated, I got on the bike and started my return back to the caravan. I had no food at home and no money in my pocket and a car with a blown up motor. I was furious. In spite of the many people I had coached over the past two years about faith and love and God, here I was forgetting everything. I flew into a rage and started to blame God for the mess I was currently in. I cursed him and was screaming at him non-stop in my mind for most of the way home. I said, “If you’re there and you can hear me, show me a sign or get me out of this mess, for you have all the power and I have nothing.”

Further along, I noticed a scruffy weirdo with long hair and bare feet walking up the hill in the same direction, but I didn’t give him a second thought as I was busy abusing God. In the distance just ahead of the weirdo I noticed what looked like a car seat cover in the middle of the road. If only I had a car. However, I took this as a sign to return to Ireland as soon as possible as it had spots of green on it. I shot passed the weirdo to reach my prize and ditched the bike by the side of the road to claim the car seat cover, only to realise it was just a stupid blanket. I was just about to dump it into the ditch when I noticed the weirdo almost adjacent to me. I started to approach him and as I got closer I started to feel very calm and peaceful. I stood directly in front of him and asked him if he needed a blanket. He looked straight into my eyes with the brightest eyes I have ever seen and in that moment every hair on my body stood up, he opened his palms and all he said was “Bless You”. It felt like time had completely stopped. I was in some sort of shock. After a few moments of just standing there in a daze and no conversation I returned to my bike. I mounted it and turned to wave him good-bye but he was gone.

I don’t know what happened that day on the side of the road but by the next morning I had decided to push-bike around Australia helping the homeless. I started making plans and whenever I told anybody about my plans they said I was mad, I wasn’t mad, I was totally mad. But here I am, six and a half years later, still going around the world, visiting schools, raising awareness, fundraising for charities, and creating the world’s largest blanket.

I remember that single moment that changed my life forever!

Editors : Laine Mullen USA - Ben Whitten NZ.