How the Japanese Concept of Ichigo Ichie Can Tune You in to Your Life
Magical coincidences are about attention to moments, not luck
Co-authored with Francesc Miralles
Deep within the narrow streets of Gion, in the heart of Kyoto, sits a rustic chashitsu, or tea house. That old neighborhood is home to the last remaining geishas and untold mysteries of a fading way of life; in the spring, its cobblestone roads are carpeted in fallen sakura petals. It is in that tearoom that particularly observant visitors might notice a wooden plaque hung from a brown pillar. It bears the inscription: 一期一会
Pronounced ichigo ichie, its meaning is something like this: What we are experiencing right now will never happen again. We must value each moment like a beautiful treasure. We must become moment hunters.
One way to consider the transformative weight of single moments is through the famous chaos theory concept of the butterfly effect. The term is associated with the adage that “a butterfly beating its wings in Hong Kong can unleash a storm in New York.” In other words, any change, no matter how small, ends up triggering completely different circumstances due to a process of amplification.
The crucial connection between ichigo ichie and the butterfly effect is this: Though…
