It's only in the stillness of quiet that we can really hear.
Early on a February morning this year, on the final day of the 2,300-mile Walk for Peace, I prepared to join a live meditation by my friend Ardis Mayo. It's a weekly time of silence and reflection on Zoom.
Like many others, I was feeling bittersweet about the ending of the Walk. It inspired me deeply.
I fussed with my phone, searched for the link, and after a few frustrating minutes, simply gave up.
There, in the cold and dark, snuggled in blankets, I let go of trying to connect with the meeting and just … breathed in the pre-dawn stillness. I breathed in gratitude for the warmth around me, for the quiet of the moment and for the love I could sense in my home.
And then, in the silence, softly, a thought arose: We have a Lama. Why don't we have a Walk for Peace?
It might sound like an odd thought — but we really do have a Lama! Ado Lama moved to Bentonville, near Front Royal, and I attended offerings that he and his friend, Dr. Sophia Wu, taught at Ruby Yoga.
Something in me recognized this as a seed worth planting.
I could hardly wait for a reasonable hour to text Laura Ruby. Laura said yes, Ado Lama and Dr. Sophia Wu said yes, and from there, something beautiful unfolded.
What unfolded was more than any of us expected — and it began, as so many things do, with a single quiet moment.
Over 125 people gathered at the downtown gazebo, coming from several states, united by a single beautiful intention to bring more Peace into the world.
And what did we do? The quietest, most profound thing imaginable: we walked in silence through the streets of Front Royal.
Not protesting or rallying. Just presence, breath, and our footsteps on the pavement.
The glow afterward was palpable. There were smiling faces everywhere, in spite of unseasonable 90-degree March heat and 1.5 miles of walking. There was a clarity, a softness in the air, a sense of having touched something real.
What we touched, I think, was Nature herself. That quiet presence that simply allows, that lives in all things and asks nothing in return.
It simply is. And in that isness, something in us remembers how to be still, too.
When we walk quietly, when we breathe together, when we stop filling every moment with noise, we create what I can only call a resonant field. A space where what is true and good can arise on its own.
I find myself wondering what ripples are spreading outward even now, as each of us carries that peace back into our lives.
Silence isn't empty. It's where Peace lives — and where we remember who we are.
Here's a 3-Minute Tiny but Mighty Practice to help you soften into silence
Find a comfortable seat, inside or out. Close your eyes or soften your gaze toward the ground. If it helps, set a gentle timer for one to three minutes — just one minute is meaningful!
For that time, do nothing, say nothing. Let sounds come and go without following them, and let thoughts drift like clouds passing through.
Just breathe. And breathe again. Simply notice your breath and this moment.
This truly is an instant reset of your nervous system, of your mind.
One of Nature's offerings is the gift of stillness. You don't have to walk 1.5 miles in the heat to receive it. It's already waiting for you, right where you are.
There is so much noise in the world right now. And yet Peace is here, too.
It lives in the pause between breaths, in the rustle of leaves, in a moment of shared silence with 125 strangers who all chose, for one afternoon, to come home to themselves together.
You can choose that too. Any time. Any day.
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