I first learned of Thich Nhat Hanh in 2016, during a weeks-long insomnia brought on by the election. My go-to anxiety-coping-mechanism, drinking, was not available because I was pregnant. I was watching ASMR to try to fall asleep, when I came across one of his guided meditations/
That video had a profound, calming effect on me. At that point, I don't think I had ever, in my adult life, fully inhabited the present moment. Not sober. I could get there stoned, but not on my own. In fact, I'd never really understood what people meant by "being present" /
Pregnant, terrified about *handwave* all I foresaw when Trump won the election and what my kid's future would be like, and unable to use chemical coping mechanisms to deal with anxiety, I started watching every Thich Nhat Hanh video I could find, reading a dozen of his books/
I don't know how I would've survived the last five years without him! When my kid's birth disabled me, and I lost my job, and spent months on bed rest, and then got dependent on painkillers, and then had to quit them--I couldn't have gotten through any of that w/out meditation/
When I first started to be able to go on little walks, pushing the stroller, I'd do this meditation he recommended where you just say to yourself with each step, "Yes, yes, yes. Thank you, thank you, thank you." I went on a walk today and did it and felt so grateful for him.
I don't have a regular, sit-down meditation practice, or even call myself a "Buddhist," but I do *occasionally* experience fleeting moments of presence and gratitude throughout the course of my days. And for that I'm very grateful to Thay, and all the teachers who came before him
I'm one of many millions of people he's profoundly helped. What an incredible life. And I don't grieve that it's over, because I know he'd just say it's just another transformation. The nature of the universe is change! We are of the nature to die!
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
