TOUCHING PEACE

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I could have ordered my new calendar online, like I do with so many things, but I felt like I needed a dose of Barnes and Noble. 

I loved walking into the store, into one of the most therapeutic smells in the world, then drifting from shelf to shelf, looking at the candles, cozy “reading socks," chocolates, teas, puzzles. And of course, books. 

I felt a warmth and kinship with the people there. The older man burrowed into the chair in the corner reading a huge book about ships. The two teenage girls at the table in the coffee area, sipping their drinks and talking. The little boy sitting on the floor of the kids’ section with a Mo Willems book on his lap, and his mom sitting next to him reading her own book. Parallel reading. 

I’d come in specifically to buy a 2026 calendar and there were so many to choose from. Funny ones and arty ones and dozens celebrating the beauty of nature. It’s nice to know I’m not the only person who still needs and uses a wall calendar.  The one I picked without a moment of doubt was Touching Peace – the quotations and calligraphy of Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hahn, with the whimsical, colorful art of Marisol Ortega.   

2025 has been a rough year for much of the world. Every day seems to bring something disturbing.  Another act of violence, a further loss of peace. So many of us are weary of the brutality and greed, worried about how much worse things can get.  

Yet we choose to hold it every day in the palm of our hands on a small, rectangular screen. And we’re addicted to it. 

Or maybe I should speak for myself.  Way too often, I just have to see the words "Breaking News..." on my phone and I immediately need to click onto the link to see the latest disaster. As the popular meme goes, “my desire to stay informed is currently at odds with my desire to stay sane.”  

I need to go into the New Year knowing that peace is within reach -- no matter what's going on around me -- and Thich Nhat Hanh has always reminded me of that.  Maybe I won’t be able to grasp peace and hold onto it for long stretches of time, but I need reminding that there will always be the chance to savor a light touch or brushstroke of peace every day. 

I'm so grateful I was able to go to some of Thich Nhat Hanh's mindfulness retreats over the years. One of my favorite memories is watching him pause from his talking to our group at Deer Park Monastery to sip his tea. He cradled the cup in his hands and closed his eyes and sipped. I could tell that nothing else mattered to him in those seconds. 

Boit ta te, he said in French. Drink your tea. When you’re drinking your tea, just drink your tea.  

Or take a walk in the sunshine. Or go to a bookstore. 

We all touch peace in our own way.  

A few days after my trip to Barnes and Noble, my daughter gave my husband and I a beautiful present.  She’d made a calendar for 2026 of our family trip to Hawaii during the summer.  It all came back to me.  

Asking kind strangers to take our photo and be patient while we tried to get our unwieldy group to stand together in front of a waterfall and smile, because taking selfies of all of us at one time wasn't working so well. 

My grandchildren in their little wet suits, jumping across the rocks on the way to the beach. 

Snorkeling with my husband and daughter at the gorgeous protected reef in Honolua Bay and having my daughter take my hand and point down at the white tipped reef sharks circling just feet below us. She's a marine biologist and knows which sharks are the right ones to get close to.  

Watching my grandchildren with their uncle and aunt at the foot of a banyan tree, the sun filtering through the leaves onto all their smiling faces. 

I'm glad she included the photo of my son and husband barbecuing by the pool of our condo complex. Food was a huge part of our vacation, as it always is when we're together. Looking at that photo makes me remember all the deliciousness we shared every day. 

You'd think that with two new calendars (I still have to decide how I'm going to use them both) I'd be content. But a few days ago I remembered that Barnes and Noble has these really funny page-a-day box calendars, and I thought I should probably get one of those too. 

So I went to see what they had. There weren't many left but the cover of one made me laugh out loud. A woman standing nearby wanted to see what I was laughing at and when I showed her, she joined in and realized that although she'd come in for a book, she needed a funny calendar too. 

In the end, although I had fun looking, none of them really worked for me. Maybe I'll go online and see what I can find. I'm determined to go into 2026 choosing to touch peace, love and laughter as often as I can. 

And I wish all those for you too! 



















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