Rose like a phoenix from the ashes. This might sound cliche but I promise you that the story of living ichigo ichie can be best introduced by this phrase, so hear me out.
I was busy doing everything that a mom and a homemaker does. Until one day my world turned upside down when I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a rare blood cancer, in 2019 at the age of 33. It felt like life had punched me hard on my face and left me in lifelong agony. Journey back home from hospital was long with eyes filled with tears as heavy as hopelessness and a heart as empty as vacuum.
6 months fast forward and I was being prepared for my stem cell transplant. During this time I had both comfortable and awful days. Some days I would curl up under the blanket or in the arms of my husband or mom for comfort. Other days I would panic thinking about the pain the treatment was inflicting on my body, a body which I knew no more. Often my mind would entangle itself in darkness questioning how to live the rest of my life with purpose and contentment.
Little did I know that sometimes the greatest gifts are hidden away in these deep dark places, the places we wander off to unknowingly.
Just like any other day, I was getting ready to lie down on my untidy bed with a book (Wabi Sabi by Beth Kempton) in hand as the skies prepared London for yet another gloomy day. While reading it, I stumbled upon the Japanese phrase ichigo ichie. There was a sudden flashback. I had seen this phrase when I was living in Japan but back then I did not spare a thought. But now my brain started making connections to the behaviours and encounters I had with Japanese people. Eager to learn more, I ordered the book of Ichigo Ichie by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles and the rest is history my friend.
My greatest take away was no matter how hard I try, the past will remain irreversible and the future will always be unpredictable. But what is in my control is NOW. This fact empowered me. It got me looking at the choices I made each day. I figured that the pain endured was inevitable but the unnecessary suffering I was putting myself to was optional.
Therefore, as promised, the phoenix rose from the ashes with a new hope, a hope to seek and explore #livingichigoichie.
I coined this phrase to my friend Delnavaz who had visited me in Japan. She would often express to me how rushed her life was with a 5 day corporate job and endless weekend chores. Though we were living very different lives, yet we both saw the meaningfulness in being able to enjoy what we have with no expectations. The joy we discovered in simple instances which otherwise would have been overlooked were immensely satisfying. It felt like we had found magic around us; magic that was always there but we were unaware of.
It has been almost a year since we first started exploring life with this new perspective and I won’t shy away from accepting that it has made a huge difference. We both felt passionate about this and therefore, started to document our musings on our blog and instagram handle.
We are aware how busy you are and also, how easily you can get distracted and forget the fleeting nature of time. But please be aware that once a moment is gone, it’s lost forever. Therefore, our simple aim is to educate, remind and inspire you to immerse yourself in the present. It would be an honour to take you along our journey while we explore this and who knows if you’ll discover your own #livingichigoichie moments. 🙂