Mark Nakagawa and I had lunch with Rear Admiral Hayamizu, Defense/Naval Attache of the Japan Self Defense Force. On behaave of JAVA, we presented RADM Hayamizu, who is completing his tour at the Embassy of Japan this month, with an American Flag that was flown over the Pentagon on 24 February 2026. Thanks to Kenta Tanaka for facilitating the flag's flyover of the Pentagon.
@japanembassydc@java100442mis@high.java
You can scroll past another argument about peace in half a second.
But it’s hard to forget people who practice it.
I’ve been thinking about a simple, powerful scene: Buddhist monks walking a 2,300-mile journey. No money asked for. No slogans. No side to fight. Just bowls, robes, silence, and discipline. And beside them walks Aloka, a rescued dog. No words. No agenda. Only presence.
Today is Day 84.
And that “still” is what gets me.
Still walking. Still choosing compassion. Still refusing to respond to the world’s chaos with more chaos.
This isn’t a protest. It isn’t a performance. It’s a practice.
In Buddhism, peace isn’t something you demand from the world. It’s something you live through the body. Each step is intentional. Each breath is steady. Each mile is a reminder:
No violence can end violence.
No anger can heal anger.
No noise can cure suffering.
That’s why this kind of peace feels so powerful.
And why it can feel uncomfortable.
Because it doesn’t let us hide behind opinions. It quietly asks us to become what we say we want.
So here’s what I’m sitting with today:
If peace is a discipline, what does it look like in the next hour. Not in theory. Not in a comment thread. In real life.
Maybe it’s pausing before you reply.
Maybe it’s choosing gentleness when you could choose sharpness.
Maybe it’s listening longer than you want to.
Maybe it’s letting someone else be “right” so love can stay in the room.
Maybe it’s one deep breath instead of one more jab.
Peace isn’t an idea.
It’s a daily choice.
One quiet step at a time.
What’s one small “peace practice” you can commit to today?
