Thich Nhat Hanh was a Zen Buddhist monk born on October 11 in 1926. I first came across his book, Being Peace published in 1987, which was amongst one of my first introductions to the teachings of Zen, mindfulness, meditation, and topics of compassion and kindness. As designers, much of the work that we do is about creating things for people that will hopefully make their lives easier to navigate. Unfortunately, much of design’s goals are to make profit and in today’s digital landscape, success is measured by number of clicks, time on screen, and all these other metrics that are questionable.
Yet, as designers, if we wish to create experiences that connect with people on a profound level, we need to cultivate an ability to truly understand and listen deeply. We also need to become familiar with our own human experience so that we can cultivate the compassion to direct towards others. I know all this probably sounds very ummmm new age or whatever, but I think we can all agree that we all want to belong, be heard and respect, and be well.
So on Thich Nhat Hanh’s birthday, I encourage you to check out his writing and work. Being Peace is a book I recommend.