“Stillness is Strength: Bella’s Five Books and the Wisdom of Today”

“Stillness is Strength: Bella’s Five Books and the Wisdom of Today”

Today, we took a ride as a family. A short drive on paper—but a long, meaningful journey inward. On the way to Barbi’s work, we listened to a short episode from Heroic Wisdom Daily by Brian Johnson. The reflection centered on Ryan Holiday’s Stillness is the Key. It stirred something in all of us.

Holiday reminds us that in a world addicted to speed, stillness isn’t passivity—it’s power.

“Stillness is strength. The greatest leaders and thinkers create space to slow down, reflect, and act with intention.”

From the moment the audio began, I felt a calming permission wash over us all—to slow down. To listen. To stop needing to be anywhere else. And it reminded me of the five principles Bella carries so effortlessly in her life—principles that, when practiced in stillness, become the very architecture of her strength:

• LOVE – the first bookend. The start of it all.

• BLESSING – living life as a gift, not a grind.

• INSPIRE – showing up fully and helping others rise.

• GENUINE – no pretending, just real presence.

• LIGHT – the final bookend. The reason we show up at all.

These five values, when stacked together like books on a shelf, hold the story of her becoming.

And in the quiet this morning, I heard my own voice surface—one I haven’t heard clearly in a while. It whispered:

“Be still. That’s where your strength has always come from. It’s not in the fight or the force. It’s in the space between the noise.”

We didn’t need to analyze the podcast. We just absorbed it. That’s the beauty of driving together. No pressure, just presence.