I started reading Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh, shortly after the author’s death.

Most enriching for me was Sister True Dedication (T.D.)’s essay on taking ten breaths without thinking, found on pages 62 through 64. Sister T.D. had to train to engage in this simple life changing practice. As part of the training, when a thought emerged, she had to go back to starting the count (to ten) at zero.

It took Sister T.D. more than two months to do the breathing mediation correctly.

When mental despair came upon her one evening and thinking as well as walking didn’t work, “through the storm an inner voice came from somewhere deep inside, “Who are you to know what to do if you can’t even take ten mindful breaths!””

After an hour of repeated failures came ten breaths without thinking. Sister T.D. felt relieved and vividly present. “To my surprise, the whole landscape of my perception had changed. The situation looked and felt completely different-and all the possible solutions were there clear as day.”

What would our daily lives be like if we could all take ten breaths without thinking?