Ikigai: finding your purpose and living it in health (1 Viewer)

[Lila]

An article caught my eye this morning; about 'the Japanese secret to longevity' that was called Ikigai.

This name, Ikigai, is new to me.
The concept is familiar and I believe that many of us will resonate with and and love being reminded of what we connect with. So I looked it up. I found many articles, including this one discussing a book on the ikigai from a site which is new to me (sloww): https://www.sloww.co/ikigai-book/

This book will be on my list now for a lot of reasons. One is that they quote my faavourite philospher, Viktor Frankl in the writeup:

There is a passion inside you, a unique talent that gives meaning to your days and drives you to share the best of yourself until the very end. If you don’t know what your ikigai is yet, as Viktor Frankl says, your mission is to discover it.

Another is that this resonates perfectly with what I just read in Maryann's post here: https://ninespath.com/tarot/keeping-on-the-path/divine-echoes-come-to-light/ (this should be posted on Transients soon), as well as Janne's posting about the goddesses being out in force here: https://www.transients.info/roundtable/threads/the-goddesses-are-out-in-force.6889/#post-47842
How is that for synchronicity!?!
... and of course, I just read a post from therium on synchronicity here: https://www.transients.info/roundtable/threads/synchronicities-weird-things-happening-add-them-here.6797/#post-47838

Also, this particular write up summarizes the main points beautifully. Here are a few examples:

The 10 Rules of Ikigai

1. Stay active; don’t retire.
2. Take it slow.
3. Don’t fill your stomach.
4. Surround yourself with good friends.
5. Get in shape for your next birthday.
6. Smile.
7. Reconnect with nature.
8. Give thanks.
9. Live in the moment.
10. Follow your ikigai./QUOTE]

• “Existential crisis, on the other hand, is typical of modern societies in which people do what they are told to do, or what others do, rather than what they want to do. They often try to fill the gap between what is expected of them and what they want for themselves with economic power or physical pleasure, or by numbing their senses.”
• “Those who give up the things they love doing and do well lose their purpose in life. That’s why it’s so important to keep doing things of value, making progress, bringing beauty or utility to others, helping out, and shaping the world around you, even after your ‘official’ professional activity has ended.”

“Our ability to turn routine tasks into moments of microflow, into something we enjoy, is key to our being happy, since we all have to do such tasks.”

Regarding the Okinawans being studied for their unique take on life and longevity:

• “The Japanese are skilled at bringing nature and technology together: not man versus nature, but rather a union of the two.”
• “Okinawans live by the principle of ichariba chode, a local expression that means ‘treat everyone like a brother, even if you’ve never met them before.'”
• Celebrations seem to be an essential part of life in Ogimi.

• “Food won’t help you live longer…The secret is smiling and having a good time.”
• “My secret to a long life is always saying to myself, ‘Slow down,’ and ‘Relax.’ You live much longer if you’re not in a hurry.”

[/QUOTE]

• “One hundred percent of the people we interviewed keep a vegetable garden, and most of them also have fields of tea, mangoes, shikuwasa, and so on.”
• “Locals eat a wide variety of foods, especially vegetables. Variety seems to be key. A study of Okinawa’s centenarians showed that they ate 206 different foods, including spices, on a regular basis. They ate an average of eighteen different foods each day, a striking contrast to the nutritional poverty of our fast-food culture.”

And of course I'll end the quotes with Victork Frankl + an old Japanese proverb

• “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” — Viktor Frankl
• “Nana korobi ya oki (Fall seven times, rise eight.)” — Japanese proverb

I have been wondering why I have put in the effort to be here posting and interacting in the midst of all the other everpresent demands on my time: family, work, household, keeping fit etc. I have just known that if feels like the right thing for me right now. It seems it is part of my ikigai
I'd love to hear other thoughts on what people think their ikigai is, how they engage in it, how to manage this in the midst of our demanding lives, etc.

 

[Laron]

5. Get in shape for your next birthday.

Good advice.