I would like to begin the year with a list of inspiring quotes.
I’d like to feature the wise words of mindfulness teacher Thich Nhat Han. Nhat Han, who died in 2022, was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, peace activist, prolific author, poet and teacher.
He’s widely known as the “father of mindfulness,” having taught those principles, through speeches and books, to many around the world, myself included.
My favorite book of his quotes is “Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Han.” His key teaching was “through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment.” I find his words very calming. Here are some of my favorite quotes with a few comments from me — in parentheses — and closing with a line from a poem that I love.
• “Getting in touch with the beauty of nature makes life much more beautiful, much more real.” (When was the last time you took a hike at the Cibolo Center for Conservation?)
• “We need to stop running after things, because even if we get the object of our desire, we won’t be happy and we’ll want to run after another one.”
• “Have you offered your presence to the person you love? Are you so busy that you cannot be there for that person? The most effective way to show compassion for another person is to listen to them.”
• “Begin any activity by generating a motivation based on love, compassion and altruism.”
• “Find a moment to sit, wherever you are; stay there and enjoy doing nothing for a while.”
• “If we’re truly established in the present moment, we can bring the future to the here and now and make plans. The only material for the future is the present. Handling the present moment with all your attention, all your intelligence, is already building a future.”
• “Silence is something that comes from your heart, not from outside. Find silence in all the activities you do.”
• “If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.”
• “Peace and compassion go hand in hand with understanding and nondiscrimination. We choose one thing over another when we discriminate. With the eyes of compassion, we can look at all of living reality at once. A compassionate person sees him or herself in every being.”
• “All kinds of desires are the continuation of our original desire to be safe. If we don’t have a problem in the present moment, it means we don’t have a problem. Why continue to worry and be fearful?”
• “We all have the seeds of compassion, forgiveness, joy and non-fear in us. If we’re constantly trying to avoid suffering, there is no way for those seeds to grow.”
• “Everything we do, every step, every breath should bring joy and happiness to us. Life is already full of suffering; we don’t need to create more.”
• “Without freedom, there is no happiness. This means freedom from despair, freedom from resentment, freedom from jealousy and fear.”
• “Most people are afraid to come back to themselves, because that means having to face the pain inside of them. If you are unable to take care of yourself, how can you take care of anyone else?”
• “Everything is connected to everything else. If others are unsafe, there is no way that we can be safe. Taking care of other people’s safety is taking care of our own safety.”
I’d like to end with a line from Amanda Gorman’s poem, “The Hill We Climb:” “For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Thank you for reading. To find out more about how to get involved with local Democratic activities and activism, visit www. kcdems.us
Laura Bray is Chair of the Kendall County Democratic Party.
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