Take all the holy books and…

Take all the holy books in the world and put them aside for a moment and look at this poem, or gatha, from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh –

Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is a wonderful moment.

Twenty-two words; aren’t they beautiful?

Close your eyes and repeat the poem a few times silently as you breath. Or if you haven’t memorized it just recite it a few times.

It feels good, doesn’t it?

I wonder if we all said this a few times a day and got into the habit of showing this type of reverence toward ourselves if it wouldn’t spread out from us in some way to bring calm and smiles and wonder to others around us?

Do we need anything else?