García and Miralles open by introducing the book's central Japanese concept, ichigo ichie — roughly "once in a lifetime encounter" or "for this time only" — rooted in the tradition of Japanese tea ceremony, where each gathering is treated as a singular, never-to-be-repeated event deserving full presence and appreciation.

Core meaning the authors establish:

• Even a seemingly ordinary or repeated interaction — meeting the same friend, attending a familiar meeting — is, in a literal sense, unique: this specific configuration of people, mood, and circumstance will never occur again in exactly the same way
• The concept encourages approaching each encounter with the same reverence and attention traditionally given to formal tea ceremonies, rather than treating routine moments as interchangeable or unremarkable
• This opening reframing sets up the book's broader project: applying this specific cultural philosophy to everyday modern life, well beyond its origins in formal ceremony

This foundational concept becomes the lens through which the rest of the book explores presence, relationships, and appreciation of everyday experience.