I've lived in Washington for most of my life, and I've taken the ferries through the San Juan Islands more times than I can count. Usually, I'm thinking about where I need to be, what I forgot to do, or whatever is worrying me that particular day. I barely notice the scenery anymore, which is a shame because it's absolutely beautiful here.

Last weekend, I was taking the ferry after a difficult week. My daughter had been going through something painful, work had been stressful, and I felt as though everyone needed something from me. I went outside onto the deck because I needed a little fresh air.

An older woman was standing nearby, looking out at the water. She smiled and said, Isn't it amazing that we get to live somewhere this beautiful?

I looked around at the islands, the mountains in the distance, and the sunlight reflecting off the water. For the first time all week, I wasn't thinking about what I needed to do next.

We started talking, and she told me she'd recently lost her husband. They had taken that same ferry together for years, and now she rode it occasionally because it reminded her of their happiest days.

She said something I've been thinking about ever since. She told me that life can be terribly hard and incredibly beautiful, sometimes on the very same day.

I stood there long after our conversation ended, watching the water and thinking about how much I'd been missing while worrying about everything else.

When I got home, I called my daughter. Instead of immediately asking how we were going to solve her problems, I simply asked how she was feeling. We had the nicest conversation we'd had in weeks.

I wanted to share this little moment from Anacortes because I think we all need a reminder sometimes. We can care deeply about the people in our lives without carrying every problem every minute of the day. We can have difficult things happening and still notice something beautiful.

Sometimes peace is simply looking up long enough to remember that there's more to life than whatever is worrying us today.

I'm a grandfather of six, and one of my favorite things is taking my youngest granddaughter to the park. She's five years old and has an opinion about absolutely everything.

Last weekend, we were sitting on a bench eating ice cream when she noticed a little boy playing by himself. She asked me why he didn't have anyone to play with. I told her I didn't know.

Without another word, she put down her ice cream, walked over, and asked him if he wanted to play.

Within minutes, they were running around together like they'd been friends forever. His mother came over and told me they'd recently moved to the area and that her son had been struggling to make friends.

I watched those two children laughing, completely unconcerned about where the other came from or whether they had anything in common.

I wish adults could remember how simple kindness can be.

We spend so much time worrying about differences that we sometimes forget how much we share. Everyone wants to feel included. Everyone wants to matter to someone.

My granddaughter probably won't remember that afternoon years from now. But I will.

Maybe peace begins when we stop wondering whether someone belongs and simply make room for them.

I woke up this morning feeling happier and more hopeful about our country than I have in a while. Elections can bring out so many emotions, and I know not everyone is celebrating the same things today. But for me, this election has given me a renewed sense of optimism about the future.

I was talking with my neighbor this morning, and we realized that even though we don't always agree politically, we both want many of the same things for our families. We want our children to be safe, our communities to thrive, and people to treat one another with kindness and respect.

That conversation reminded me that elections come and go, but we're still neighbors. We're still sharing the same communities, schools, grocery stores, and everyday experiences.

I'm choosing to enjoy this feeling of hope while remembering that peace also means making room for people who feel differently.

My little reminder today is that we can celebrate what gives us hope without losing compassion for one another. America belongs to all of us, and every one of us has an opportunity to make it a kinder, more peaceful place.

I stopped at the grocery store yesterday after a particularly long day. My husband has been dealing with some health issues, and between appointments, work, and everything else, I've been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. I was standing in the checkout line when I realized I'd left my wallet at home. I was so embarrassed. I started apologizing to the cashier and telling her I'd have to leave everything behind.

The gentleman behind me quietly stepped forward and offered to pay for my groceries. I told him I couldn't possibly accept, but he smiled and said that someone had helped his wife once when she needed it, and he'd been looking for an opportunity to return the kindness.

I nearly cried right there in the grocery store.

What touched me most wasn't the money. It was that someone noticed I was having a difficult moment and decided to make it easier. He didn't ask for my name or expect anything in return. He simply wished me a better day and went on with his shopping.

Driving home, I thought about how much time we spend worrying about what's wrong in the world. There are certainly difficult things happening, but there are also wonderful people quietly doing good things every single day.

My little reminder from Maine is this: Never underestimate what a small act of kindness can mean to someone who is carrying more than you know. Sometimes peace arrives in the most ordinary places, through people we may never see again.

Three of my siblings and all my nieces and nephews travel together to Rome and southern Italy (Bari and Calabria) to learn about our ancestry ancestry. We were greeted by the mayor of Acri Mayor Copalbo, who his kindness in multiple ways by toasting us at a local restaurant andopening museums for us to tour. We are returning that kindness by making a donation to repair the benches In Acri and we will soon send over a care box with our infamous See's candy and Jelly Belly's, when the weather cools down so that the chocolate does not melt in transit. Spreading kindness throughout the world brings the world much closer to our fingertips.❤️

My greatest sense of peace comes when I reflect on John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."So I just grab hold of that promise by the One WHo really can give it and peace envelopes my being. Of course littl occassions add to it, like simply picking handfuls of cherries in a tree in our backyard, in the sunny day today.

I took The Peace Guidebook with me on my morning walk and stopped near the water to read for a few minutes. I had been carrying a decision around in my head for weeks, turning it over and over as though thinking about it one more time would finally give me the answer.

I closed the book and looked out at the water. Everything was so still. For once, I stopped asking myself to figure it all out. I just sat there.

That was the moment I understood that peace doesn't always come with an answer. Sometimes peace is being okay with not having one yet.

Thank you for writing this book. I came home without the decision made, but I came home feeling lighter. That was enough for today.

I own a little flower shop, and yesterday was one of those days when everything seemed to go wrong. A delivery arrived late, a customer was unhappy, and I accidentally knocked over a bucket of roses. By lunchtime, I was exhausted and in a terrible mood.

An elderly woman came into the shop and spent a long time looking at the flowers. I was impatient, although I tried not to show it. Finally, she selected one small yellow rose.

She told me it was for her neighbor, who had recently moved into the building and didn't seem to know anyone. She said she remembered how lonely she felt when she first moved to Florence and wanted to make sure someone else felt welcome.

I wrapped the rose in paper and added a few extra flowers.

After she left, I stood there thinking about how I'd spent the morning worrying about everything that had gone wrong while this lovely woman was thinking about how to make someone else's day better.

I can't tell you that my afternoon suddenly became perfect. It didn't. But I found myself smiling at customers again, and I sent a little bouquet home with a woman who was having a difficult week.

A reminder from my little flower shop: We may not be able to change everything happening around us, but we can still add something beautiful to someone's day.

I'm 71 years old, and last Tuesday I did something I haven't done in almost three years. I went out to lunch by myself.

Since my husband passed away, I've found myself avoiding the little places we used to visit together. I always thought it would be too painful to sit at a table without him. But last Tuesday, the sun was shining, and I decided to go to our favorite café. I ordered soup and brown bread, just as I always did, and sat near the window.

At first, I felt terribly lonely. Then I noticed an older gentleman sitting across the room, also eating alone. We smiled at each other. A few minutes later, he came over and asked if I minded some company. We ended up talking for nearly an hour about our families, our lives, and the people we missed.

I went home feeling lighter than I have in a long time.

I wanted to share this because I know there are people reading who are missing someone terribly. Grief doesn't disappear, and I don't think love ever does either. But there can still be new conversations, unexpected friendships, and beautiful afternoons. Sometimes peace is allowing ourselves to enjoy life again without feeling guilty about it.

Happy to land here today. What if there is nothing wrong in the world or with us today, if we are only willing to pause, breath and choose one thing three times today. Peace does need remembering to practice it. It also requires public expression and engagement. I found myself prganizing local peace rallies and walk spontaneously during Iraq war and lately following the Buddhist monk Ven. Pannakara's long walk for peace in 2025.

Cultivation of inner peace each day allows us to express our values with honesty, courage, creativity, fearlessness and tenderness for the benefit of all beings. I have seen most diverse people from every age, race, color, political and religious affiliation gather and unite under the banner of peace, wisdom and love. All differences can be worked out only with peace today and in the long run and never with hate, anger and wars.

I recall writing two quick posters for a peace gathering in front of Central Library in Lexington, KY with the sign "In the power of Peace, all fear and terror cease". I put one sign on top of a bush for someone to pick up. I saw at the end of the gathering a father with two daughters picked up the sign to take home. End do not justify unethical means. As the saying goes, no way to peace, peace is the way! To realize the ultimate peace, freedom and bliss of Nibbana (Nirvana) we need to free our minds from all greed, hate and ignorance (Buddha).

I love encouraging people, especially when they doubt themselves. I want to be the person in your corner, cheering you on, reminding you why you should back yourself.

You already have everything within you that you need. The courage, the creativity, the resilience, the ability to figure things out along the way. Sometimes you just need someone to reflect that back to you until you can see it for yourself.

One of my favourite saying that I live by is, if you hang out with me for too long, I'll brainwash you into believing in yourself and thinking you can achieve anything!

I shared my littles boys pieces of 2 apples, 8 waffles and 2 kids bars with two kids today. For some reason I did cut 2 apples into 8 pieces each and took a package of waffles with me today when I picked my little boy from kindergarden. Usually I only cut one apple for him and have just a bar or two with me when I'm picking him. But today I got that intuitive feeling to cut more apples and take a pack of waffles with me. And I stopped questioning those intuitive feelings and just doing it with the trust that there is a reason for that. And when I reached kindergarden, two other boys and parents where there and my and the other three boys decided to continue playing with each other in front of the kindergarden. After some time one kid started crying wanting a banana from his mom. She didn't have one but told him at home he could have apple and he was saying yes with a smile on his face. I was sitting rught beside them and asking whether he wants an apple right now and told him I have apple in the car. His face fully light up and he was excited and loudly saying yessss. So I got the apple pieces from the car and shared them all with all three kids. After the apples where finished, the boys kept playing and got again hungry (dinner time was getting close) . So I asked the parents whether I can share the package of 8 waffles with them and when they both agreed they ate those as well. And I was thinking, see, that was the reason I had to cut two apples and take a packages of waffles with me, so that the hungry kids could have something to eat and play and then getting home relaxed without being too much hungry 😊

And in the end my boy wanted to eat a kids bar as well and one of the other boys too and my boy told me that I need to give that other boy a bar too and told me to share it. And one of the less good things my mom taught me was never to eat in front of anyone without sharing my food. So if you have enough to share, then share it and when you don't have enough food to share it, then don't eat it in front of someone. Wait until they are gone. And for me it's so normal to share what I have, I don't even realise anymore that it's not going without saying. So I was surprised getting big thanks from the parents in a way that told me, they where not expecting that...

I believe I am here to spread love and kindness and my mission besides that is to bring more abundance to my fellow humans and to remind them that our nature as a human is pure love and abundance and our very existence is more than enough to be loved, cherished and to live an abundant life. And when I look at my little boy, he knows that, he knows that it is his birth-right to be loved and live abundantly, just because he is a human being and that's our real nature, live and abundance. And too many of us got taught out of that knowing throughout life and believe now subconsciously we have to earn love and abundance. And I'm here to remind each and everyone that it's not true. We don't have to earn that. We deserve that anyway. Your very existence is more than enough to be loved and cherished and to live an abundant life. Sending lots of love and good energy to each and everyone of you beautiful human beings 🧡💛

My son is sixteen, and lately it seems like every conversation between us turns into an argument. He's growing up, I'm trying to protect him, and neither of us has been doing a particularly good job of listening.

Last night we had another disagreement. I was ready to give him a lecture when I noticed how upset he looked. Instead of continuing, I asked him what was really bothering him.

He started crying.

I can't remember the last time my son cried in front of me. He told me he'd been having a hard time at school and felt like he was disappointing everyone. I had no idea. I'd been so focused on his attitude that I hadn't stopped to wonder what was behind it.

We sat together for almost two hours. I didn't have answers for everything, and I probably said a few things wrong. But before he went to bed, he hugged me and thanked me for listening.

I'm sharing this because sometimes the people we love don't need another lecture, another opinion, or another solution. They need to know we're willing to hear them.

Tonight our house feels a little more peaceful. Nothing is perfect, but we're talking again. And that's a pretty wonderful beginning.

This morning I woke up already worried about everything I needed to do. The laundry was piling up, work has been stressful, and my mother hasn't been feeling well. I was making coffee when my daughter came into the kitchen and asked if we could sit outside together for a few minutes. My first instinct was to tell her I didn't have time. But I said yes. We sat there in our pajamas, drinking our coffee and hot chocolate, watching two birds argue over a piece of bread. We laughed so hard. It was only fifteen minutes, but it changed my entire morning. I've been thinking about how often I rush past the very things that make life wonderful. Here's my little reminder to anyone reading this: Sometimes the most important thing on your to-do list is the thing that isn't on your list at all.

Michael — Dublin, Ireland

I had a disagreement with my brother almost two years ago. Nothing terrible happened, just two stubborn men who both thought they were right. Birthdays passed, Christmas came and went, and neither of us picked up the phone. Last week I saw something funny that reminded me of him, and without thinking too much about it, I sent him a message. He replied almost immediately. Yesterday we met for lunch. We didn't solve every disagreement or revisit every hurt feeling. We just talked, laughed, and enjoyed being brothers again. I realized how much energy I'd spent holding on to something that wasn't making my life any better. If there's someone you've been missing but pride has kept you apart, maybe today is a good day to consider reaching out. Peace doesn't always mean agreeing. Sometimes it means deciding that love deserves another chance.

Grace — Nairobi, Kenya

My grandmother used to tell me that you never know what someone is carrying when they walk past you. I thought about her yesterday when a woman at the grocery store was having trouble paying for her food. The people behind her were becoming impatient, and she looked terribly embarrassed. I quietly offered to help with the difference. It wasn't very much money, but she took my hand and thanked me with tears in her eyes. I went home thinking about my grandmother and all the things she taught me without ever sitting me down for a lesson. We have so many opportunities to make life a little easier for someone else. Most of them are small, and nobody will ever know about them. But perhaps that's the beautiful thing about kindness. It doesn't need an audience to matter. Wishing everyone a little extra compassion today.

Isabelle — Lyon, France

I turned 63 this year, and I've been having a difficult time accepting how quickly life seems to change. My children have their own busy lives, my career is behind me, and some days I wonder what I'm supposed to do with this new chapter. Last Sunday I invited a few neighbors over for dinner. Nothing fancy. I made soup, bought fresh bread, and opened a bottle of wine. We sat around my kitchen table for hours telling stories. One of my neighbors, who recently lost her husband, told me it was the first time she'd laughed that much in months. After everyone left, I sat in my quiet kitchen and realized something. Maybe I don't need to have the next twenty years figured out. Maybe I can simply keep creating a life that feels meaningful, one day and one gathering at a time. If you're entering a new chapter, I hope you'll remember that there are still wonderful things waiting to be experienced, and sometimes we get to create them ourselves.

James — Wellington, New Zealand

I've been a teacher for twenty-six years, and some days I wonder whether anything I say actually gets through to my students. Last week was particularly challenging. Everyone seemed distracted, I was exhausted, and I went home feeling like I hadn't accomplished much. Then yesterday, a former student stopped by the school. He's grown now, with a family and a good job. He told me he remembered something I'd said to him when he was fourteen and struggling with his confidence. I had absolutely no memory of the conversation, but apparently I'd told him that one difficult year didn't get to decide the rest of his life. He said he'd carried those words with him ever since. I sat in my car afterward and cried a little. We don't always get to see the difference we make in someone's life. So if you're a parent, teacher, coach, friend, or simply someone trying to do a little good in the world, please keep going. Your kindness may be

I was sitting in my car outside the grocery store after a really difficult morning. I had been trying to hold everything together for everyone else, and I finally just stopped. My copy of The Peace Guidebook was sitting on the passenger seat. I picked it up and saw the words that had already become a reminder to me: Pause. Breathe. Choose.

So I did.

I put my phone down. I listened to the rain hitting the windshield. I breathed. For a few minutes, I stopped trying to solve everything and let myself simply be there. Nothing around me had changed, but something inside me had.

Thank you for writing this book. I needed that reminder more than I can explain. Sometimes peace doesn't come because the problem goes away. Sometimes it comes because, for one moment, we remember that we don't have to solve everything at once.

Living in my gratitude -Savoring my life by being present.

We're honored to be among the first to join the Percolate Peace Project! Dr. Katie Eastman stopped by to talk with our team today, and we're so grateful she did. Hearing her share the heart behind this movement was a real gift -- a good reminder that peace starts with each of us and grows each time we pass it on.

That idea really resonated with our team. So much of what we do here at Team Kelli Lang comes down to how we treat the people around us -- our clients, our neighbors, and the community that we are so lucky to be a part of. We'd love to help spread the word and add our own moment to the map as it continues to grow and touch the lives of more people.

Peace is in you because, when you place your faith in Christ, His Spirit dwells in your heart. True peace does not come from the absence of trouble or the perfection of your circumstances; rather, it stems from the presence of God living within you. Although the world around you may be filled with uncertainty, disappointment, or pain, your soul can remain calm because your security is anchored in the One who never changes.

Just as understanding a language can sometimes involve communication without true comprehension, God's peace guards your heart and mind even when life feels chaotic. This inner peace is a gift from God, reminding you that He is in control, that you are deeply loved, and that you are never alone.

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in You." - Isaiah 26:3

This verse beautifully encapsulates the essence of the message: true peace is not something we create within ourselves, but a gift from God given to those who place their trust in Him.