What does it mean to walk peacefully?
Thich Nhat Hanh became a novice monk at just age 16, actively working to renew Vietnamese Buddhism and was one of the first monks to ride a bicycle. He now resides in Plum Village, which is located just west of France.
His key teaching is through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment—the only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world. He did many amazing things for this world.
Finding Peace
The quote was in a book he wrote “The Long Road Turns to Joy: A Guide to Walking Meditation”, which poetic overview of walking meditation.
“If you look deeply, you can see all the worries and anxiety people print on the Earth as they walk. Our steps are usually heavy, filled with sorrow and fear. We feel insecure, and our steps reveal it,” he says.
If that’s the case, yes, it is a miracle to walk peacefully on Earth. It is rare that we can find peace in our daily lives, so when we do, it truly is a miracle.
“Walking meditation is meditation while walking. We walk slowly, in a relaxed way, keeping a light smile on our lips. When we practice this way, we feel deeply at ease, and our steps are those of the most secure person on the Earth. All our sorrows and anxieties drop away, and peace and joy fill our hearts. Anyone can do it. It only takes a little time, a little mindfulness, and the wish to be happy.”
Watching for Miracles
Miracles happen to us and around us every day. We spend too much time in despair, anxiety and sadness to see it or appreciate it. There are the miracles of birth, the life of each individual person, who had millions of genes combinations and possibilities that could just as easily happened, the sun and the moon rising and falling to bring us a new day every day without fail, the germination of a seed, which brings us nutrients and beauty, random acts of kindness that bring love to the hurting, most of these we could never know about, but they are indeed miracles.
Most of the time, we are so busy stumbling from one weekend to the next for that next great thing that we miss all the great things in between. But just as Thich Nhat Hahn says, “Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize. A blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black curious eyes of a child, our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
Let’s walk peacefully, bringing love to everyone we meet, sharing our blessings to those who need them most.
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