Hector Garcia - The Book of Ichigo Ichie: The Art of Making the Most of Every Moment, the Japanese Way

On the afternoon that, though we didnt yet know it, this book was about to be born, a storm was battering the narrow streets of Gion, in the heart of Kyotohome of the last remaining geishas, among other mysteries. We found refuge in a chashitsu, a teahouse, which was empty because of the downpour.

Sitting at a low table beside the window, we noticed that the torrent of water rushing down the narrow street was sweeping with it sakura petals from blossoming cherry trees.

Spring had sprung and summer was on its way, and soon nothing would be left of those white petals that inspired such passion in the Japanese.

An elderly woman in a kimono asked us what we would like, and we chose the most special variety of tea on the menua gyokuro from Ureshino, a place in the south of Japan where the best tea in the world is said to be grown.

As we waited for the steaming teapot and the cups to arrive, we shared our impressions of Japans former capital. We were amazed that there were two thousand temples in the hills surrounding the city, whose population is smaller than that of Philadelphia.

Then we listened in silence to the rain pounding the cobblestones.

When the old woman returned with the tray, the teas fragrant aroma roused us from that brief and pleasant torpor. We lifted our cups to see the bright green infusion before savoring the first sip, which tasted both bitter and sweet.

At that very moment, a young woman riding a bicycle while holding an umbrella passed by the old teahouse and smiled shyly at us before disappearing into a narrow street.

It was then that we each looked up and discovered the wooden plaque on a dark brown pillar. It bore this inscription:

We set about deciphering those characters, pronounced ichigo ichie, while the damp wind swayed a small bell hanging from the eaves of the teahouse, making it ring. The meaning of ichigo ichie is something like this: What we are experiencing right now will never happen again. And therefore, we must value each moment like a beautiful treasure.

This message perfectly describes what we experienced that rainy afternoon in Kyotos old town.

We began to talk of other unique, unrepeatable moments like that one, to which perhaps we hadnt paid enough attention because we were too concerned with the past, the future, or the distractions of the present.

A student walking through the rain, carrying a backpack and fiddling with his cell phone, provided a clear example of the latter and reminded us of a quote by Henry David Thoreau: As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.

That spring afternoon, in a sudden flash of inspiration, we understood something that gave us food for thought in the months to come. In our age of complete distraction and our culture of instant gratification, when we often fail to listen, and engage only superficially with our surroundings, each person contains a key that can open the door to attention, harmony with others, and love of life.

And that key is called ichigo ichie.

In the pages that follow, we will share a unique and transformative experience, discovering how to make each and every instant the best moment of our lives.

Hctor Garca and Francesc Miralles