Thich Nhat Hahn & a tip to help you understand

Thich Nhat Hahn is a Zen master who reminds us love is what we nurture as we develop our capacities to take care of others and ourselves. He inspires us to learn to generate loving energy toward ourselves.  Only then will we gain expanding insight into love and evolve to nourish and care for others well.

In reading about Thich Nhat Hahn's life journey, you rediscover a different kind of heart of compassion within yourself.  You may care for loved ones who suffer from illness or, be relearning to care for yourself.  What matters is the effort, the will to learn, the instinct to love. As you ask, 'what else could you be doing for others?', do you also care for you?

Hahn shares this story worth mentioning:

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce.  You look for reasons it is not doing well.  It may need fertilizer, or more water or less sun.  You never blame the lettuce.

Yet if we have problems with our friends or our family, we blame the other person.  But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce.  Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reasons and arguments.

That is my experience.

No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding.

If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change. You will find peace in every step, providing you choose to perceive it, for it is always there.

Comments

[Svasti]

Nice post Liara - and its well worth applying this to our selves as well - instead of blaming ourself for what we think we've 'done wrong', look for what we can do to support and help in our healing.

Namaste

[Liara Covert]

Svasti, during this life, many people have made promises to themselves that they have chosen not to keep. How you keep or do not keep your promise to love yourself helps you gain insight into your strengths and weaknesses. To learn to trust yourself enables you to give up habits that interference with your core happiness. Positive changes reinforce love and become a consistent part of your life.