peace is every step

This is a quote by a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk and poet who wrote a book called Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, a really beautiful guide to fully loving yourself, fully loving others, fully loving where you are. If I could paste the entire book into this post, I would, as some of my most favorite snippets of wisdom were written by this little Vietnamese man.

“Sometimes it is better not to talk about art by using the word "art". If we just act with awareness and integrity, our art will flower, and we don't have to talk about it at all.”

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." 

“Each time you look at a tangerine, you can see deeply into it. You can see everything in the universe in one tangerine. When you peel it and smell it, it’s wonderful. You can take your time eating a tangerine and be very happy.”