Living With Reason ~ Your Reason to Live
Ikigai and the Japanese Secret to a Joyful Life
Hello beautiful people!
So, I was recently challenged with a writing prompt: “A passion or hobby that enriched your creativity, business skills, or life skills.” This immediately reminded me of the concept of Ikigai.
Iki means to live.
Gai is reason.
So some say Ikigai is your reason to live. But it is also living with reason, with meaning, with purpose.
Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone was living a life of meaning and purpose? How would our interactions be different if we all shared our gifts with one another in support of the community as a whole?
Join me in exploring Ikigai!
~Suzanne
The beauty of Ikigai is that it not only brings meaning and purpose to your life, but when you are living in meaning and with purpose, you bless others with your gifts and contribute to the good of all humanity.
I work with a guy who is a real people person. He can make a connection with just about anyone who walks in the door to the point where they remember him every time they come in. Even their kids remember him! Families will come to do their shopping and ask if he’s around because the kids have a picture they’ve drawn for him or some other token. His love of interacting with people is a gift, not only for the people he talks with, but those of us who work with him and the company we work for.
Is retail grocery his “calling”? Probably not. He’s worked in other industries and even the military when he was young. But he brings Ikigai to whatever he is doing. He brings meaning a purpose to whatever “job” he is in with his people skills.
Even more than just the purpose you find at the intersection of the diagram, Ikigai is the feeling you get when you are on purpose with whatever task is at hand. Similar to mindfulness. It’s embracing the journey of life and experiencing it with purpose.
I talked about this in a previous post about Bruce Lee’s “Be like water” quote. Being true to who you are and truly being in the moment with what you experience is also Ikigai.
When you are playing with your children, be present in the moment, enjoy being with them, and experience that moment fully. When it’s time to be a parent, be the parent that embraces your unique gifts and skills that you have to give to your children. Don’t compare your parenting style to someone else’s. Their gifts are different from yours.
Ikigai also emphasizes community.
Having others you can support and those you can depend on is important. In a practical example, maybe one person in your group is great with numbers and will do your taxes for you while you, are a wonderful cook and might “pay” them with some special meals they wouldn’t otherwise be able to prepare for themself. Sharing gifts in a community benefits the individuals as well as the whole community’s well being.
Resiliance is another aspect of Ikigai.
When you are working, be on purpose in that task and find joy in it. When you are working on something that not only comes easy to you but also brings you joy, there is a certain inherent resilience that we experience. There is nothing that can stand in our way to complete our goal. When adversity pops up, we aren’t deterred or distracted. We find a way around or through the roadblock. What we are doing is so much a part of who we are, there is no question that we will find a way to move forward. And, we accept the imperfection of what is rather than fretting about what isn’t.
You can run your Ikigai “personality test” for free online. And, if you’d like to explore your Ikigai further as well as your Human Design and how they all fit together, or if you just have questions, feel free to message me!