International Year of Peace and Trust: Peace is Every Step

Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hahn

In the rush of modern life, we tend to lose touch with the peace that is available in each moment. World-renowned Zen master, spiritual leader, and author Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how to make positive use of the very situations that usually pressure and antagonize us.

Nhat Hanh has published over 100 titles in English, ranging from classic manuals on meditation, mindfulness and “Engaged Buddhism,” to poems, children’s stories and commentaries on ancient Buddhist texts. Engaged Buddhism, which has its roots in Nhat Hanh’s writings, applies the teachings of the Buddha to social life in order to bring about social change. Engaged Buddhists hope to connect traditional Buddhist beliefs to protest and social action.

“We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living.” – Thich Nhat Hann, Peace Is Every Step

In Peace Is Every Step, he relates that a ringing telephone can be a signal to call us back to our true selves. Dirty dishes, red lights and traffic jams are spiritual friends on the path to “mindfulness” – the process of keeping our consciousness alive to our present experience and reality. The most profound satisfactions, the deepest feelings of joy and completeness lie as close at hand as our next aware breath and the smile we can form right now.

Read to Understand: Peace & Trust is a yearlong series in recognition of the International Year of Peace & Trust as designated by the United Nations. Art by Dawn Schreiner.

The Complete Peace & Trust Reading List

Read to Understand: Peace & Trust has been a yearlong series in recognition of the International Year of Peace & Trust as designated by the United Nations. The listed titles were curated by library staff to reflect both that theme and the rich diversity of our global community.

Resist!: Peaceful Acts That Changed Our World 
by Diane Stanley 

Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
by Thich Nhat Hanh

Trust First: A True Story About the Power of Giving People Second Chances 
by Bruce Deel 

When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman’s Journey from War to Peace
by Le Ly Hayslip with Jay Wurts

Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day 
by Jay Shetty 

I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb

The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers 
by Maxwell King

Called to Forgive: The Charleston Church Shooting, a Victim’s Husband, and the Path to Healing and Peace
by Anthony B. Thompson with Denise George

A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power
by Jimmy Carter

The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X
by Les Payne and Tamara Payne

Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger
by Anita Silvey

Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor
by Yossi Klein Halevi

You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train
by Howard Zinn

Champions for Peace: Women Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize
by Judith Hicks Stiehm

Apeirogon
by Colum McCann

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t
by Simon Sinek

The Dog Who Lost His Bark
by Eoin Colfter
Illustrations by P. J. Lynch

Peacemakers: Leadership Lessons from Twentieth-Century Statesmanship
by Bruce W. Jentleson

Mandela and the General
by John Carlon
Art by Oriol Malet