2/9/26

The Super Bowl is over, so now it’s time to turn attention to another landmark event happening in our country–the Walk for Peace. 

It hasn’t gotten even a fraction of the hype of the Super Bowl, but it sure is worthy of it! 

If you haven’t heard about this Walk, 19 Buddhist monks have been walking for over 105 days straight on a mission to promote peace. After starting in Fort Worth, TX, they expect to arrive in Washington, D.C. this week.  

Besides logging WAY more than the typical benchmark of 10,000 steps per day, they’ve also been accumulating tons of respect, admiration, and I dare say love. 

More importantly, with each step, they’re inspiring millions of people to put attention towards cultivating inner peace. 

Their act of walking got me thinking…

We’re all moving through life in some manner, each at unique paces. As we do so, most of us aren’t simply moving, we’re playing an adult version of the classic playground kids’ game “chase.” That is, we’re moving in pursuit of capturing something. 

The “something” varies depending on a person’s values, stage of life, personal goals, etc. I submit that if each of us really looks at what we’re chasing, it would be apparent that what we’re actually going after is a feeling state. 

It’s often referred to as happiness / contentment / freedom, but I think the monks have really honed in on it. 

What they’re walking for is what we’re chasing after–peace. 

Personally, I never liked playing “chase” as a kid…it left me with a sinking, empty feeling, especially if the person who was “It,” doing the chasing, wasn’t able to tag any targets. 

Everyone should be able to reach some peace. 

As the monks show and discuss, getting “there” isn’t a race or a game. 

But it requires many steps in one direction, and invites not just one, but many “halftime” shows to acknowledge and celebrate progress.