Stunned by the political news I turn to Tricycle Magazine and an article by Lewis Richmond, titled The Power of a Quiet Life.

He describes a time in June 1982 when the nuclear freeze march took place in New York City to protest the “then-burgeoning specter of nuclear war between the US and Russia”.  It was a major event with the route cleared so the crowd of more than a million people could walk from the UN Plaza north to Central Park, a walk of nearly two miles.

Fourteen were chosen to walk in the front. One was Thich Nhat Hanh who gestured to the other thirteen to link arms.  He led the pace with his slow walk, the way he always walked.  This pace wasn’t part of the plan and at this pace, the city of New York would come to a halt.  Thich, who during the Vietnam War, survived all sides and factions wanting to kill him, was resolute.  He stayed with his pace as the monitors directed people to stream on both sides of the line of fourteen people.  The fourteen who began the march, kept their mindful pace and were the last to arrive at the finish line.

Richmond writes:  “We walked, arms still linked, the way Thich Nhat Hanh wanted us to walk, the way Buddha surely walked when he was in the world. Thich Nhat Hanh made the Buddha come to life that day.” 

Thich Nhat Hanh: ‘Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet’.