My fascination with Japanese culture and philosophy has me on the hunt for books about Japan. Recently I finished reading The Book of Ichigo Ichie-The Art of Making the Most of Every Moment, the Japanese Way, by Héctor Garcia and Frances Miralles.
The actual translation of Ichigo ichie is either, “Once a meeting,” or “In this moment an opportunity.”
Basically this idea has to do with fully living in the moment. All the while knowing that this moment will never come again. If we allow ourselves to be distracted, “…the moment will be lost forever.”
My Ichigo ichie moment recently has been the budding of our redbud tree. Each year as spring arrives I await the first blooms that signal that spring has arrived. We were unaware of our redbud tree at first, as we moved onto our property in the summer, and the tree blended in with the others. However, We were thrilled the next year to see it peeking out among the other unadorned branches.
What I do know, though, is that it won’t be here for long so I always take a moment to notice it as I travel down our county road. Ichigo ichie reminds me to enjoy the moment, knowing it will not last forever.
The lesson here is not to get too caught up in the busyness of life to unintentionally miss out on this once in a moment opportunity.
