This week, I had the opportunity to experience the monks and their Walk for Peace in person. I had been following their 2,300-mile journey on social media since they began last November.
Years ago, I walked 39 miles for breast cancer. It was the most physically demanding thing I have ever done, and I trained for months. Watching the monks undertake a journey of this scale, often through harsh winter conditions, became a daily ritual in itself. I found myself checking on them every morning, wishing them mild weather and, given the current state of the country, safety.
I was surprised and gratified to see the outpouring of support. Sure, some folks seemed to be there for what had become a viral sensation; that is the world we live in now. But while waiting for them to arrive, I chatted with people who traveled to DC from places like New Jersey and Montana to greet them and who, like me, were deeply moved, not just by their dedication and endurance, but by their message. Which was, in short, peace is an inside job, and it begins with us.
That is why I started Kellie Box Company. My daily practice of quiet and journaling began as an attempt to find steadiness in a life that often felt demanding and overwhelming. What began as survival became ritual. And when I shared it with others, it resonated.
Even if only for a few minutes each day, I pause. I breathe. I step off the train of work, family obligations, home repairs, meetings, and other responsibilities to ask myself:
Am I okay?
Am I living the way I want to?
Am I contributing calm and kindness to the world around me?
And if I’m not, what do I need to shift? What do I need to do differently? Or do I just need a bit more of this? Quiet. Rest. Intentional breath.
I’ve learned that inner peace requires practice. It unfolds day by day, step by step.
The leader of the monks, Venerable Bhikku Pannakara, addressed the crowd and asked us to commit to writing down each day, “Today will be my peaceful day.” To read it. Return to it and repeat it to ourselves throughout the day.
Despite my daily practice, I am by no means perfect. There are days when I am anything but peaceful, just put me on 495 at rush hour. But peace is always my intention, and I try, again and again, to return to it.
The monks are gone now. But what remains is the practice and their request that we write down and read each day, “Today will be my peaceful day.” I hope we keep choosing it, in our own quiet ways, in our work, our homes, our relationships, and everywhere we go.
Kellie
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