Can/should we actively use thoughts as part of mindful awareness?

I've been reading Thich Nhat Hanh's 'The Miracle of Mindfulness'. It's a wonderful, short book that I wish I had found years ago. There's one very basic thing I still struggle with. This is a quote from the book: > 'When you are walking along a path leading into a village, you can > practice mindfulness. [...] You practice by keeping this one thought > alive: "I'm walking along the path leading into the village"' Since I began mindfulness meditations a few years ago I've always aimed to practice an awareness where thoughts are merely things that happen whilst I am being aware, and that I should let them pass as they come, not engaging but not strenuously pushing away. However, is Thich Nhat Hanh suggesting in the quote that we can 'hold' a thought in our minds that mirrors the subject of our awareness, or this instead just a way of articulating the experience of awareness? He also mentions similar practices regarding mindful breathing throughout the book. This is such a basic thing that I'm concerned why I haven't 'got' it after all these years, it often feels like I understood mindfulness more when I was relatively new to it! All the best, James