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Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Thich Nhat Hanh

Top 10 Best Quotes

“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it. (21)”

“We really have to understand the person we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love. If we only think of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love. We must look deeply in order to see and understand the needs, aspirations, and suffering of the person we love. This is the ground of real love. You cannot resist loving another person when you really understand him or her. From time to time, sit close to the one you love, hold his or her hand, and ask, 'Darling, do I understand you enough? Or am I making you suffer? Please tell me so that I can learn to love you properly. I don't want to make you suffer, and if I do so because of my ignorance, please tell me so that I can love you better, so that you can be happy." If you say this in a voice that communicates your real openness to understand, the other person may cry. That is a good sign, because it means the door of understanding is opening and everything will be possible again. Maybe a father does not have time or is not brave enough to ask his son such a question. Then the love between them will not be as full as it could be. We need courage to ask these questions, but if we don't ask, the more we love, the more we may destroy the people we are trying to love. True love needs understanding. With understanding, the one we love will certainly flower.”

“When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight.”

“Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. Every breath we take, every step we take, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.”

“If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love.”

“If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything.”

“I have lost my smile, but don't worry. The dandelion has it.”

“Only the present moment contains life.”

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Book Keywords:

true-love, joy, way-to-be, understanding, smile, inspirational, buddhism, zen, thich-nhat-hanh, flowers, present-moment, gratitude, peace, uplifting, attention, happiness, poetry, mindfulness, forgiveness, love, possessiveness, enemy

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