Happy Soul Food Friday!
- Every encounter only happens once and cannot be replicated: Savor every interaction and experience you have as it can never be recreated or relived. Nothing will happen in the same way again.
- Every single person you meet can change you: Be open to new people as every other stranger could be a kindred spirit that you were meant to meet. Often the person we least expect can make us feel the most alive.
- Be fully yourself with loved ones and friends: Being present is a lifelong challenge and often the hardest to do with the ones closest to us. Put your phone away, be fully with loved ones and friends, and don’t miss out on all the good things in front of you.
- All experience stand-alone and will never be repeated in the same way: Trust that every encounter is in fact, once in a lifetime. Say yes to random opportunities and spontaneous invitations that come your way.
Are you ready to meet this moment now, without fear or regret, knowing this is each of our ultimate experience?
This week:
I have been reminiscing about how different cultures practice present moment mindfulness in the context of being present in the here and now, as well as, addressing and experiencing the imminence of death.
Nothing morbid or macabre here, just a reminder that everyone one of our lives are undoubtedly finite, none of us get out of here alive, so simply a reflective opportunity to be fully present, as well as make the most of each and every day, and each and every moment.
This is not a new idea…
In the East, the Japanese concept of Ichigo, Ichie (一期一会) reminds us that each moment is unprecedented and unrepeatable.
As I shared at an NCPC Meet the Funders event this week, you can over time, get your money back, but you can never get your time back.
This concept is nicely contextualized in the Zen cup of tea experience,
The Japanese have a way of doing things – it is slow and measured, with everyday gestures being undertaken with reverence and intimacy.
The phrase ‘ichigo ichie’ was coined by Ii Naosuke, the Japanese tea master who lived from 1815-1860.
The story goes that he was constantly threatened with assassination and so he made his tea each day as if it were his last. Every time he made it, he said the tea was unique and more beautiful than the time before. He knew that he would never have the chance to drink another tea exactly like the one he had just made, and so ichigo ichie is a way to understand and embrace the impermanence of life.
In the words of the beloved Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh who I had the privilege to meditate with many moons ago:
“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.”
Ichigo Ichie: Intense Presence In Cup Of Tea | Life Curator
Rest assured, this is not some Eastern woo woo. In the Western traditions there is a similar counterpart:
Memento Mori-You Could Leave Life Right Now!
A motif of a skull, reminiscence of death, an hourglass reminding us of the inevitable passing of time, and wilting flowers, reminding us of the impermanence of life.
This is neither morbid or negative, just a rejoinder to be present and meet the moment to the best of our ability.
A Biologist Reveals What Elephants Do When a Herd Member Dies:
Elephant societies respond to death in ways that look uncannily similar to our own reactions. Here’s why it has researchers describing them as “compassionate.”
A Biologist Reveals What Elephants Do When A Herd Member Dies
Are you ready to meet this moment now, without fear or regret, knowing this is each of our ultimate experience?
Serendipitously, In the same vein if you are local-
See if you can get tickets to Beetlejuice the Musical playing at the San Diego Civic Center over the weekend:
In the West we clearly don’t “do death well” and this comedic revisit of this evocative piece of art, delivered with wit and courage (and some irrelevance) is worth the price of admission and then some!
Beetlejuice – The Musical San Diego Tickets
Ironic that the musical itself had its own near death experience and now is a freakin’ Gen Z hit!
It is kind of like the Rocky Horror Picture Show so if you are faint of heart, caveat emptor!
How the ‘Beetlejuice’ musical beat bad reviews and became a Gen Z hit – San Diego Union-Tribune
Thanks, this week go to Craig Mc for the Memento Mori coin to keep me grounded in being fully in the present and to Aysha S-B for taking us to Beetlejuice the Musical.
Make today count! Who knows what tomorrow brings…
Love,
Neville
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nevillebillimoria
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Happy Soul Food Friday! 