Singer-songwriter Ben Kunder explores love in all its many forms by reading this 1997 book
This segment originally aired on Nov. 21, 2020.
Ben Kunder is a singer-songwriter and folk musician from Toronto. His latest album, Searching for the Stranger, was released in fall 2020 and features a moody folk rock sound.
Kunder is an avid reader and is currently reading the 1997 book True Love by Thich Nhat Hanh.
He stopped by The Next Chapter to tell us why.
"This is a book that I like to read when I'm on tour, or when I need to reflect, or if I'm feeling anxiety. True Love is by Thich Nhat Hanh, who is a Zen monk, poet, author and peace activist. This book is not about true love, in the cliched sense of finding your soulmate, it's about being able to love truly.
This is a book that I like to read when I'm on tour or when I need to reflect or if I'm feeling anxiety.
"This book covers the four elements of love, according to Nhat Hanh. Those are: loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. I can open this book and pick a page and it will give me a practice to breathe in and offer ways to be mindful and to practice love — loving each other, loving myself — because you can't really love other people until you love yourself fully."
Ben Kunder's comments have been edited for length and clarity.
