I started reading this book to calm myself during times of emotional turmoil. Thus, this may not come across as a review, but a constellation of feelings that this book evoked in me. The country is in a state of unrest witnessing the gory dance of death and destruction. People are unable to hold on to any ounce of positivity. It actually makes you feel a little guilty for enjoying a fleeting moment of frivolity in times like this. But we all need to do what we need to do to preserve our sanity, even if it to help others in dire times.
Ichigo Ichie is the art of practicing how to stay in the moment; how to consider every moment, every opportunity a beautiful treasure. We have read quotes like "absence makes the heart grow fonder", or "we do not realise the worth of someone/something until it is gone". Which is why you need to practice Ichigo Ichie to know, to realise that what you are experiencing at the moment, may not ever happen again.
Even if you eat the same meal at the place on two consecutive days, your mindset will be different on both the days. The weather may be different on both the days. You may be served by a different waiter or sit on a different table. No moment in time can be exactly replicated. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge that no moment will ever occur again.
Beautiful things in life are fleeting and must not be postponed. I am sure there are a lot of things in this book that can be taken as the key message but for me, it will be this. Life seldom turns out to be how you planned it. The uncertainty, the transient nature of things is perhaps what makes them more precious. We are often caught up in our past or dreaded about the future. In all this time traveling that we do in our heads, we are unable to pay attention to what is right in front of us. We hear but we don't listen, we look but we don't see, we feel but I don't think we experience. Appreciating what is here and now, is so much more important than spending time in your head. If we are able to achieve this state of Ichigo Ichie, we may actually find immense joy even in the mundane tasks of our everyday routine.
This book is an easy to read guide to understand, and practice the concept of Ichigo Ichie [much like Ikigai, another gem by the authors] which will make you look at the issues at hand a little differently than how you have been viewing them, if nothing else.