“One moment, one time.” That is the meaning of an expression a tea garden manager used during a tea certification in San Francisco back in January, 2006. She quoted a Buddhist saying, first in Chinese, then in English, which means, “one event, happening once only.”
It refers to the fact that life events are unique, one time only, non-repeatable. She was talking about tea harvests, saying that what is wonderful one year, may not be as good the next year, or visa-versa. She emphasized that we needed to learn to fully enjoy something during its time, its single season.
Her words struck me as vividly as the taste of her tea: You need to live your life fully, one day at a time, one event or situation during its time. Daily occurrences may be similar, but they are actually non-repeatable. You have to be there, then, open and available to appreciate something, or sadly accept not being able to go back and redo it another time.
That statement has stayed with me, since that one-time tea tasting experience in San Francisco. I took that tea certification to learn more about tea, since my family had just opened a tea shop in our Iowa town along the Mississippi river. “Green’s Tea and Coffee” turned out to be a “one moment, one time” series of events, ending when we sold it after four years.
Our entire lives consist of one moment, one-time events, from our arrival to our passing, our growing up to our growing old. Case in point: the constant changes of the trees in our local arboretum. One of the things I appreciate about Iowa is that it has four true seasons. My favorite seasons are spring and fall. I really enjoy watching the trees come back to life each spring, followed by the beauty of the dying leaves each fall. It is amazing that we do not actually see the changes while they are unfolding, but only the results. If you are not paying attention, you can easily miss the stages of growth into fullness, as well as the subsequent colorful fall into winter.
You have to be there to take in whatever is unfolding, from nature to family events. Whatever you miss cannot be replayed. Especially during these difficult days, it is vital to be fully present day in and day out, even hour by hour, to take in the riches life and love offer. Simply be there, even if it is only a “Zoom” meeting online.
Change is really the rule, rather than the exception. Yet we all hold on to cherished memories of “one moment, one time” events. One of mine is of taking a nap with our first child, Matthew, when he was about three months old. He was sleeping on my chest, and I could feel his tiny breath on my chin. How precious he was, sleeping peacefully on me. Then it struck me with unexpected force, that this moment could not last forever, that he would grow up and leave home, etc., etc. I fought back tears, as I did not want to wake him, or that moment to end.
Then a realization of equal weight struck me. What if Matt never grew up, but always stayed that age? That would eventually become tiresome. So I quietly accepted that there will always be moments of joy and sorrow, love and loss, fullness and emptiness. And I told myself just to be present, and not to fear. Another season will always be on the horizon.
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