I am terrible at meditation. This is likely true for many Type A corporate types whose natural inclination is to go and do. But because I’m Type A, I push myself to do most things that will improve business performance. Enter short form meditation and my new practice of simply repeating a recently heard meaningful phrase as I get my afternoon coffee.
The short form meditation of today comes from Priya Parker’s book The Art of Gathering. In it she mentions learning from a Japanese tea ceremony the phrase “ichi-go ichi-e“. This roughly translates into “one meeting one moment in your life that will never happen again”. The Japanese are taught to be very mindful during tea ceremonies, be present in the moment and be present with those you are with.
I may never be able to turn off the running list of to do’s in my head. But for a brief moment as I pause to get my much needed cup of coffee, I can think ichi-go ichi-e. This moment will not happen again. Now back to billing I go.