I am happy and honoured to have been tagged by the the secret keeper to participate in the ‘3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge’. Many thanks to the Secret Keeper for including me in this ‘chain romp’. Many of my readers will know of her blog, a place of poetry, literature, reviews, humour, philosophy, photography, and amazing visual art. You may also be fortunate to know of her, as I do, as a generous and thoughtful commentator.
The rules for the 3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge:
1. Thank the blogger, who nominated you.
2. Share one new quote on three consecutive days on your blog. They can be from anywhere, anyone, or anything that inspires you… Which means, it can be from yourself, too!
3. On each of the three days, nominate 3 more bloggers to carry on this mission impossible endeavor (if they dare!).
Today’s nominees:
Kyrosmagica–‘Blogging about writing and books…a debut author.’
And now, without further ado, my response to the Challenge:
It will be no surprise to my regular readers that a Nature thread runs through my three responses to the Challenge. Each author quoted is unique, and each can inspire us as bloggers, and as people trying to thrive in a complicated world.
Today, I begin with Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk speaking of interconnectedness; tomorrow I will feature photographer and environmentalist, Yann Arthus-Bertrand; and on Friday, the words of Dr. Jane Goodall, author, activist, and public speaker, aim to inspire empowerment and hope.
The water in our flesh, our bones, and all the microscopic cells inside our bodies all come from the Earth and are part of the Earth. The Earth is not just the environment we live in. We are the earth and we are always carrying her within us.–Thich Nhat Hanh, Love Letter to the Earth.
Thich Nhat Hanh 2007, Photo by Luu Ly, Licensed under Public Domain
Love Letter to the Earth waspublished in 2013 by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet, and peace activist. Living in exile, in France, he leads Plum Village, Mindfulness Practice Centre. Thich Nhat Hanh’s writings on mindfulness, breathing, meditation, love, and peace are studied worldwide by people of many religious backgrounds.
I haven’t read the full text of Love letter to the Earth, but it is now on my list. I first got wind of this recent work when reading about Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Climate Change Convention. According to a Globe and Mail report, she keeps the book by her bedside wherever she goes. Perhaps there is no coincidence that the recent UN sponsored anthem is called Love song to the earth. The connection will be even more apparent when you read the quotations below.
In Love Letter to the Earth, Thich Nhat Hanh calls for nothing short of a spiritual revolution. His book is not about climate change or fossil fuels,–it’s about our relationship to the world around us. He says: “We have to change our whole relationship to the Earth”. From alienation and separation, we need to develop a non-dualistic understanding of the nature of things. In other words, we are not separate from nature or the cosmos. Nature is in us and we are in Nature. In his book, Thich Nhat Hanh offers a path to a greater sense of interconnectedness. Here are two more samples of his words:
The entire universe can be seen in a flower. If we look deeply into the flower, we can see the sun, the soil, the rain, and the gardener. Similarly when we look deeply into the Earth we can see the presence of the whole cosmos.
…..
…we can see that the Earth is truly alive. We are a living, breathing manifestation of this beautiful and generous planet. Knowing this we can transform our relationship to the Earth…We will fall completely in love with the Earth…That is the relationship each of us must have with the Earth if the Earth is to survive, and if we are to survive as well.
25 thoughts on “3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge–Thich Nhat Hanh: Love letter to the earth–#BeWoW, #Writers Quote Wednesday”
Hi Janice! Great quote! I’m a huge fan of nature myself. If more people understood that we all come from the earth and carry it with us, we wouldn’t have all the issues we are facing today (Global Warming, melting polar ice, pollution, animals going extinct . . . ).
The three quotes are beautiful and fit in with the way I feel about all in nature. It is important we care for the tangible and the intangible, showing respect and honoring the presence of the spirit in all things, in Earth and in us. We are all one. To find peace, we all need to understand we are all touching everything and it is touching us back. The connection is real. What we do affects all. I will have to look into the book Love Letter To The Earth. Awareness and insight sound rich in the works of Thich Nhat Hanh. It is time for a Spiritual Revolution. I am a member and many more have joined this Revolution.
I would also like to thank you for your kind words. You move me with your generosity. I love what you have done with presenting the quotes you have chosen. Brilliant. Spreading the words so necessary to save Earth and all of nature and humans, too. [A poke at those humans who feel we are above nature and don’t believe the trouble Earth is in. She could just throw us off her back and start all over again] We desperately need to take notice and make changes now. jk
Thank you for showing me something I think will help in my growth of awareness & insight. And I love the idea of those who are so brazen in their disbelief in the truth in evolution and that Earth is on a destructive course due to humans causing climate change and being indifferent to do anything to alter that course. Thos humans need to be thrown off the backs of the planet and let those who remain save her from the errors of our ways. Electric cars would be a great start. They do need to be in a better price range. But someday Tesla will make it so. Also, wouldn’t it be wonderful if Tesla’s invention of making electricity free for all humankind be a hoot to implement. Those 1% who shut him down and ruined his life still have ancestors who benefited from his downfall. Well, I believe it is time for Tesla to rise again. Pardon my Rant. I get enthusiastic about a lot of things. This is one of them.
Great to hear you rant. Hybrids are good too– two challenges for electric are charging facilities and the cleanness of the electrical grid–for example if the electricity is still generated from burning coal, then an electrical car will be ‘dirty’–anyway whenever my car conks out I want to look into a better option than a regular gas guzzler.
If the Tesla free electricity pole were allowed to be created, it would not use coal. It draws from a whole different force of energy. I do know the full details other than it would have made electricity free and it didn’t involve producing it the way it is done today. So agree with you on the electric car as the next purchase but very costly still.
OK — I hadn’t heard of that–sounds interesting…one of these days I’ll get more informed about cars– but they are looking at so many different solutions these days it’s hard to keep up– and then, slightly off topic, they’re developing hands free automatic cars–seems a bit ridiculous to me..
I am not sure I would want free hand driving. It sounds dangerous. Breaking when too close or someone suddenly stops would be ok. The Tesla Free Electricity for all was shut down before our times by JP Morgan and Edison before it could be given away. They and/or the Government stole his belongings after he died. They didn’t want know what he had created. And Morgan, who was supporting him up to that point, stopped him cold, destroying Tesla. He would have ruined them financially, so they did it to him first. And he was broke when he died even though he had created many things for Edison and on his own with Morgan’s support. The Wealthy and the thieves, like Edison, stole Tesla’s life away from him.He died broke and alone.
Yes. I am a huge fan of Nikola Tesla. The most recent novel I wrote, I had a story within a story. The inside story was an adventure in trying, through magical means, to locate in time, where Tesla hid all his secret inventions. He had to hide them in time to protect them. The protagonist was to find them and the story continues. Since it was a story within a story I need to someday write the whole thing. It is rather mystical. Lots of twisty things happen and there are always bad guys. The Black Hats are after her and her mystical cat(s). Only one cat has the power. Such fun!
No automatic cars for either of us then. Cars are killing machines without being automatic in the no hands department. Look mom no hands. Oops! I didn’t do it, the car did. That is no excuse not to stop before running over that poor [make up what is hit] it would do that – but we know that. We’re smart. 🙂
Sounds like an interesting novel…and I looked up Nikola Tesla…appears to have been a complex, creative individual. AND if you’re in the mood this article about the Tesla company’s automatic car might give you either a chuckle, a sigh of relief, or maybe an eye roll– I laughed- http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100482_tesla-autopilot-the-10-most-important-things-you-need-to-know. You’ll probably have to paste it to make it work.
Thank you. There are some facts about Tesla that are not mentioned in most of the sources on his life but the relevant facts are there. He was really taken advantage of and ruined by the same people.
I will take a read of the LINK you gave me and get back to you on it. Thanks.
No worries about that link–we are all very busy with life and blogging…it’s just an article from the Tesla company explaining that the technology is still very experimental and people should keep their hands on the wheel. 😅
I read the article on Tesla AutoPilot.There was a lot of laughter coming from me on some of Musk’s answers. His saying it would be better keep your hands on though the system is meant to be hands off, it would be safer. Paraphrasing. And the regulators would want to be sure it would be no worse with hands off as hands on. That seems like a silly thing to base approval on for the autopilot system’s approval. Oh, and that you would be safe enough with the system once it works, that you could sleep the whole time you were in the car while it was driving itself. All this sounds just a bit unsafe to me & definitely not something I would ever do while driving any car with an autopilot. I have flown planes with autopilots, but there is a lot of space up in the sky. So you feel a lot safer you won’t run into another plane. But on the highway, no way I’d trust autopilot to get me anywhere safely. It was a funny article. Musk said it would ready in several years. Three years was the projected time when the system /software would be perfected enough to be safe to go all out on autopilot. No way. Even if I could afford it would I trust it to get me anywhere safely. I don’t think so.
Thanks for the LINK. I enjoyed the read immensely. Wouldn’t it be grand if one could trust such a system. I hate to drive. If the car could really do it on its own, I would really love it. But somehow it feels too much like a dream or fantasy, and too SyFy. 🙂
Oops my last note was before I read this..yes you were laughing at the same thing as I was ‘keep your hands on the wheel’ automation might be helpful to a degree but someone should always be watching– and then I’d be afraid that you wouldn’t be able to override a system error–this already happens with ABS braking systems when the brakes lock or pump and no human effort can fix the situation . Anyway public transportation systems would be more useful to focus on…and tech related to clean energy … Oh well.
Yes, too many things could go wrong. It’s bad enough when your computer crashes, well, all systems crash sometimes. I wouldn’t want it to be when I am in a car ever again. How about fixing the train system getting us back on the rails. I love trains. Not planes anymore. And buses don’t agree with my travel sea sickness. It’s the diesel. I am allergic. Clean cars, the best other thing to work on and making them affordable across the board. Oh, I remembered more about the Tesla Free Electricity system. It is a pole which is inserted into the ground and somehow it produces an unending supply of free electricity all across the planet. No costs to produce and it is clean and Free for everyone. More details, I do not know or at least remember. I would imagine it would hook up to whatever system that needed electricity. Sounds great. What happen to the schematics? Hidden. Locked away by the government to protect the wealthy oil barons and producers of other carcinogens that ruin the air, like plastics and smoke pouring out of manufacturing chimneys. And the list goes on…You correct…Oh Well. A dream…We need to discover another Tesla.
There must be someone out there. Maybe in school learning and in their future they will create something spectacular. If Tesla and Einstein lived, why not others. Stephen Hawking creates and studies Black Holes. Maybe someone is studying how to create Free Electricity from out of Tesla’s inspiration. Geniuses do exist in the sciences, they just may not know it yet.
Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the great sages in my opinion. Always brings a smile to my face when I see other people who have been inspired by his compassionate words and loving-kindness.
Ontheland 
Hi Janice! Great quote! I’m a huge fan of nature myself. If more people understood that we all come from the earth and carry it with us, we wouldn’t have all the issues we are facing today (Global Warming, melting polar ice, pollution, animals going extinct . . . ).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, it goes way back in western culture…but world views are evolving 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
The three quotes are beautiful and fit in with the way I feel about all in nature. It is important we care for the tangible and the intangible, showing respect and honoring the presence of the spirit in all things, in Earth and in us. We are all one. To find peace, we all need to understand we are all touching everything and it is touching us back. The connection is real. What we do affects all. I will have to look into the book Love Letter To The Earth. Awareness and insight sound rich in the works of Thich Nhat Hanh. It is time for a Spiritual Revolution. I am a member and many more have joined this Revolution.
I would also like to thank you for your kind words. You move me with your generosity. I love what you have done with presenting the quotes you have chosen. Brilliant. Spreading the words so necessary to save Earth and all of nature and humans, too. [A poke at those humans who feel we are above nature and don’t believe the trouble Earth is in. She could just throw us off her back and start all over again] We desperately need to take notice and make changes now. jk
LikeLike
I’m happy that you enjoyed Thich Nhat Hanh. He is a great teacher. I like your comment in square brackets–she just might throw us off her back.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for showing me something I think will help in my growth of awareness & insight. And I love the idea of those who are so brazen in their disbelief in the truth in evolution and that Earth is on a destructive course due to humans causing climate change and being indifferent to do anything to alter that course. Thos humans need to be thrown off the backs of the planet and let those who remain save her from the errors of our ways. Electric cars would be a great start. They do need to be in a better price range. But someday Tesla will make it so. Also, wouldn’t it be wonderful if Tesla’s invention of making electricity free for all humankind be a hoot to implement. Those 1% who shut him down and ruined his life still have ancestors who benefited from his downfall. Well, I believe it is time for Tesla to rise again. Pardon my Rant. I get enthusiastic about a lot of things. This is one of them.
LikeLike
Great to hear you rant. Hybrids are good too– two challenges for electric are charging facilities and the cleanness of the electrical grid–for example if the electricity is still generated from burning coal, then an electrical car will be ‘dirty’–anyway whenever my car conks out I want to look into a better option than a regular gas guzzler.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If the Tesla free electricity pole were allowed to be created, it would not use coal. It draws from a whole different force of energy. I do know the full details other than it would have made electricity free and it didn’t involve producing it the way it is done today. So agree with you on the electric car as the next purchase but very costly still.
LikeLike
OK — I hadn’t heard of that–sounds interesting…one of these days I’ll get more informed about cars– but they are looking at so many different solutions these days it’s hard to keep up– and then, slightly off topic, they’re developing hands free automatic cars–seems a bit ridiculous to me..
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am not sure I would want free hand driving. It sounds dangerous. Breaking when too close or someone suddenly stops would be ok. The Tesla Free Electricity for all was shut down before our times by JP Morgan and Edison before it could be given away. They and/or the Government stole his belongings after he died. They didn’t want know what he had created. And Morgan, who was supporting him up to that point, stopped him cold, destroying Tesla. He would have ruined them financially, so they did it to him first. And he was broke when he died even though he had created many things for Edison and on his own with Morgan’s support. The Wealthy and the thieves, like Edison, stole Tesla’s life away from him.He died broke and alone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a very sad story. And I agree about the automatic cars–killing machines.
LikeLike
Yes. I am a huge fan of Nikola Tesla. The most recent novel I wrote, I had a story within a story. The inside story was an adventure in trying, through magical means, to locate in time, where Tesla hid all his secret inventions. He had to hide them in time to protect them. The protagonist was to find them and the story continues. Since it was a story within a story I need to someday write the whole thing. It is rather mystical. Lots of twisty things happen and there are always bad guys. The Black Hats are after her and her mystical cat(s). Only one cat has the power. Such fun!
No automatic cars for either of us then. Cars are killing machines without being automatic in the no hands department. Look mom no hands. Oops! I didn’t do it, the car did. That is no excuse not to stop before running over that poor [make up what is hit] it would do that – but we know that. We’re smart. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds like an interesting novel…and I looked up Nikola Tesla…appears to have been a complex, creative individual. AND if you’re in the mood this article about the Tesla company’s automatic car might give you either a chuckle, a sigh of relief, or maybe an eye roll– I laughed-
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100482_tesla-autopilot-the-10-most-important-things-you-need-to-know. You’ll probably have to paste it to make it work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. There are some facts about Tesla that are not mentioned in most of the sources on his life but the relevant facts are there. He was really taken advantage of and ruined by the same people.
I will take a read of the LINK you gave me and get back to you on it. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No worries about that link–we are all very busy with life and blogging…it’s just an article from the Tesla company explaining that the technology is still very experimental and people should keep their hands on the wheel. 😅
LikeLiked by 1 person
I read the article on Tesla AutoPilot.There was a lot of laughter coming from me on some of Musk’s answers. His saying it would be better keep your hands on though the system is meant to be hands off, it would be safer. Paraphrasing. And the regulators would want to be sure it would be no worse with hands off as hands on. That seems like a silly thing to base approval on for the autopilot system’s approval. Oh, and that you would be safe enough with the system once it works, that you could sleep the whole time you were in the car while it was driving itself. All this sounds just a bit unsafe to me & definitely not something I would ever do while driving any car with an autopilot. I have flown planes with autopilots, but there is a lot of space up in the sky. So you feel a lot safer you won’t run into another plane. But on the highway, no way I’d trust autopilot to get me anywhere safely. It was a funny article. Musk said it would ready in several years. Three years was the projected time when the system /software would be perfected enough to be safe to go all out on autopilot. No way. Even if I could afford it would I trust it to get me anywhere safely. I don’t think so.
Thanks for the LINK. I enjoyed the read immensely. Wouldn’t it be grand if one could trust such a system. I hate to drive. If the car could really do it on its own, I would really love it. But somehow it feels too much like a dream or fantasy, and too SyFy. 🙂
LikeLike
Oops my last note was before I read this..yes you were laughing at the same thing as I was ‘keep your hands on the wheel’ automation might be helpful to a degree but someone should always be watching– and then I’d be afraid that you wouldn’t be able to override a system error–this already happens with ABS braking systems when the brakes lock or pump and no human effort can fix the situation . Anyway public transportation systems would be more useful to focus on…and tech related to clean energy … Oh well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, too many things could go wrong. It’s bad enough when your computer crashes, well, all systems crash sometimes. I wouldn’t want it to be when I am in a car ever again. How about fixing the train system getting us back on the rails. I love trains. Not planes anymore. And buses don’t agree with my travel sea sickness. It’s the diesel. I am allergic. Clean cars, the best other thing to work on and making them affordable across the board. Oh, I remembered more about the Tesla Free Electricity system. It is a pole which is inserted into the ground and somehow it produces an unending supply of free electricity all across the planet. No costs to produce and it is clean and Free for everyone. More details, I do not know or at least remember. I would imagine it would hook up to whatever system that needed electricity. Sounds great. What happen to the schematics? Hidden. Locked away by the government to protect the wealthy oil barons and producers of other carcinogens that ruin the air, like plastics and smoke pouring out of manufacturing chimneys. And the list goes on…You correct…Oh Well. A dream…We need to discover another Tesla.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes we do ..he sounds like an Einstein- like figure…as long as the knowledge is handled responsibly…
LikeLiked by 1 person
There must be someone out there. Maybe in school learning and in their future they will create something spectacular. If Tesla and Einstein lived, why not others. Stephen Hawking creates and studies Black Holes. Maybe someone is studying how to create Free Electricity from out of Tesla’s inspiration. Geniuses do exist in the sciences, they just may not know it yet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the great sages in my opinion. Always brings a smile to my face when I see other people who have been inspired by his compassionate words and loving-kindness.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊😊😊
LikeLiked by 1 person