While having our online lesson, my Ikebana student in Israel suddenly said that we need to stop. There was an alarm signaling that they need to go to the shelter.
After a few minutes, she called to continue the class. She looked calm, I could sense her fear and worries. She was a little shaken, and her focus was a bit lost.
To help her, I gently guided her as she created her Ikebana — which stem to place first, where to let the line go, how much space to leave between one flower and the next.
When she asked me what the meaning of the composition was, I told her that the arrangement was to help her be reminded to focus and appreciate the presence of now.
Eckhart Tolle, in his book The Power of Now, teaches us that the present moment is the only place where life truly happens. The past is a memory. The future is a thought. But right now — this breath, this stem, this flower in your hand — this is real.
We finished the class. She completed her arrangement. And for that small window of time, the present moment held her gently — the way a kenzan holds a stem — steady, grounded, and full of quiet life.
