Ichigo Ichie - Once in a Lifetime

they say,

a river never flows over the same stone twice,

yet you walk as though the water will wait for you,

the hand you hold today will not be the same tomorrow,

the laughter you hear now will never echo in quite the same way,

they call it ichigo ichie, once in a lifetime.

they say,

a moment so fragile it dissolves the very instant you reach for it,

a fleeting spark, a trembling breath,

a door that opens only once,

before vanishing into memory,

they call it ichigo ichie.

they say,

you have seen its truth,

the child who no longer tugs your sleeve,

the friend whose silence now fills the distance,

the chair that stays empty at the table,

the voice that once steadied you,

gone, forever.

and I say, the world does not ask permission to break my heart,

and yet, and yet,

is this not the holiness of life?

that every glance, every touch, every goodbye,

carries the weight of eternity,

because it will never come again?

is this not the grace hidden in the ache?

this too is ichigo ichie.

let me not rush,

let me not drown in tomorrow,

let me sit with now, the presence,

with its ache, with its tenderness,

for this too,

this very breath,

is a once-in-a-lifetime gift,

this too is ichigo ichie.

And as I sit with this presence, I hear a teaching whisper through time, 'All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.' ~ Dhammapada

And if something stirred in you while reading, let it rest gently.

No need to explain. Just breathe with it, as though this too is a once-in-a-lifetime meeting. Ichigo Ichie.

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© 2025 Beyond Silence. Written by 'the one listening.'

If shared, please credit with care.