Peace Is Every Step

Reading this book helped me change my life for the better. Putting Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings into practice in my daily life helped me live a more mindful, more peaceful life at a time of great transition in my personal life.

One of the things I love the most about this book is how simple it is to incorporate its practices into daily life. There are sections on how to be mindful about washing dishes or answering the phone! There are also sections that went much deeper, which dealt with how to be mindful of my emotions, which I have… show more.

This slender book is my “bible” for inspiration as well as mindfulness. (One can’t go wrong with a book that includes a foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama!) The first essay, “Twenty-four Brand-New Hours,” reminds me that each day affords an opportunity to bring “peace, joy, and happiness to ourselves and others.” Thich Nhat Hanh, described in the introduction as “a cross between a cloud, a snail and a piece of heavy machinery—a true religious presence,” humbly offers simple ways to be present in the moment (the only moment we have, btw!). “We are very good at preparing to… show more.

Before “mindfulness” became mainstream, this profound little book taught how being present in the moment can ease suffering and transform your life. Written by a Vietnamese Buddhist Zen Master, who was nominated for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., this poetic guide to mindfulness has been my “go-to” book for stress reduction for more than 30 years. I’m grateful that his publishers granted permission to use two of his teachings from this book, "Telephone Meditation," and “Conscious Breathing with a Smile” in my book, Yoga Sparks. 

Thich Nhat Hanh’s books, words, and work have had a profound impact on me. This book in particular is one of his I really enjoy reading and re-reading. It made meditation more accessible to me as I had always struggled with the concept of sitting in zazen and staring into space (I still do). Amongst other topics, this book talks about the benefits of walking mindfully and leveraging the breath in simple but powerful ways (a practice I do follow).  

Thich has a way of making the busy world we live in look immediately simpler with his calming, nurturing words… show more.

The power of contemplating death is that it forces us to contemplate life. Focused on the latter, Hanh’s book is full of gentle reminders about how to live each day. His quiet observations about how we move through daily life and his genuine wish that we will slow down enough to appreciate it radiate in the pages, and if we truly take them in, can exist off the page as well.

Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh removes all the mystery from basic Buddhist practices of breathing and mindfulness and shows us how our everyday activities, such as walking, talking with friends, even washing the dishes, can be moments of spiritual awakening. His gentle approach has earned him hundreds of thousands of followers and his wisdom is boundless. This book is a great start, but Nhat Hanh, a peace activist, teacher, and community leader, has written many more, and all of them are brilliant and inspirational.