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Well, I have only made it to 6 books in the challenge but I have learned so much over the last several weeks. My final book for the challenge is Touching Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh. I have been reading his work for quite a long time and was profoundly touched by The Miracle of Mindfulness when I was trying to decide my career path. I find myself returning to his work regularly.
I had the opportunity to meditate with Thich Nhat Hanh once in Denver which really sealed the deal for my affection towards his writing and way of life. The subtitle on the book that you can see in the image, Practicing the Art of Mindful Living pretty much sums it up.
A few points that are made continuously are:
- Live mindfully and make decisions mindfully. Do not passively exist and let busy-ness turn you towards living on autopilot.
- Breathe mindfully and meditatively. One of the breathing exercises that he talks about are some words to think when you are breathing. One that has stuck with me the past week is breathe in and think about the word mountain, breathe out and think about the word solid. It might sound silly or uncomfortable but give it a try! Feels good 🙂
- He tells a story about a man who approached him and a group he was with who were meditating in a field. The man says have you seen my cows? All six of my cows have run away and I can’t find them. They respond that, no, they haven’t seen the cows. When the man leaves Thich Nhat Hanh turns to the students he is teaching to meditate and says: You are lucky you don’t have any cows.
Those are a few of the instances that I really enjoyed in this book. If you are looking for peace or just some coping skills in the our ever-moving world, check out Thich Nhat Hanh, you will not be disappointed!
Open Arts Spring 2023 
Very interesting! We all need more peace in our lives, as well as more mindfulness. It is so easy to give in to entropy and let ourselves loose track of the cows in our lives. Thank you for writing about this book, Alison–I’ll keep it on my list.
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He’s great! And the books are not very long so it’s not overwhelming. I really enjoy his pholosophy. Enjoy!
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Reblogged this on Winter Reading 2022 and commented:
I am revisiting Touching Peace with the loss of Thich Nhat Hanh this week. Going back to this book helps me re-engage with non-violence and mindful living, which is welcome. Let us continue in the footsteps of Thich Nhat Hanh each and everyday. Peace.
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I learn so much from Buddhism, and Thich Nhat Hanh continues to be an extraordinary teacher through his writings and filmed talks. The world is in deep need of his wisdom in these very tumultuous times. Someone from our blog introduced my to Upaya a few years ago through their interest in Japanese poetry. I have taken advantage of many of their programs over zoom since then, and I have never been disappointed. Roshi Joan Halifax, the founder of Upaya, led a beautiful Buddhist memorial service on zoom for Thich Nhat Hanh. It is hard to hear all the words, but I found the spirit and serene beauty of the service very moving. Here’s the link: https://vimeo.com/668852295/2fa7f3c331?ct=t(december-22-2020-programs-highlights_COPY_01)&mc_cid=70df199cdd&mc_eid=5b3c0c9d30,
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