My artistic style flows directly from my writing. When I write, images rise naturally to illustrate my stories. The text below is the inspiration behind this piece.
 At Thich Nhat Hanh’s continuation ceremony, novice monks were given new names, each name reflecting a virtue to aspire to, a gift of freedom. This reminded me of an awakening experience I had in Japan. While practicing walking meditation in Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto, I heard my inner voice whisper my middle name, “De La Paz” (of Peace), a name I had never used. I then remembered something my father had told me when I was a child: “You were born the day of peace.” While my father taught me valuable lessons, this was one I had never valued before. While I am not sure about the literal truth of his message, this memory has made me even more deeply and joyfully grateful for my father. He made me mindful of a name based on a virtue that I can identify with. My father granted me a gift of freedom, my true name.   
 Thich Nhat Hanh had a similar experience at the Bamboo Grove Temple in Saigon. One night he woke up at 3 and spent an hour standing barefoot on the humus in front of the bamboo thicket and plum orchard. He suddenly had a deep realization: “You are there for me and I am here for you; that is the teaching of interbeing.” Both of our realizations might be analogous: “You are there for me in peace, and I am here for you in peace.” 
From my book Walking on Earth with Thich Nhat Hanh (p. 93)