Thich Nhat Hanh’s 24-Hour Rule For Life is the Most Powerful I’ve Ever Read
The quiet art of living fully
I started treating each day as a single life a few years ago. I learned that from the stoic philosopher Seneca. He said, “Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” I aim to make every day a complete experience on its own. Today doesn’t have to be a bridge to a better day or something significant. It’s everything, no matter how ordinary. It’s a simple but effective mindset for a great life.
But spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh asks us to go further: to wake up, smile, and think of the next 24 hours as separate life.
“Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment,” he said.
Hanh made a vow in the here and now.
A vow is a promise to yourself, a commitment. He thought 24 staying present and letting each day be enough was a good approach to life. “I promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the day that is given me to live,’ says Hanh.
Every morning becomes a new beginning, and every evening, a soft close. Life becomes a series of fresh starts, of quiet moments that are enough in themselves.
