Book Babble #18: "Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life" by Héctor García & Francesc Miralles

What can the Japanese teach us about discovering our life's purpose, living with meaning and vitality, and reaching a grand old age in tip-top health? 

Well, that's quite the remit. What exactly is this 'Ikigai' you speak of??

What a delightful book and great concept. We've probably heard it all before in a sense and used different terms, but this is a fresh look at an age old conundrum. 

That is - finding purpose and meaning, living that purpose with passion and calm enthusiasm, and growing older gracefully… not only extending the years we have on this little merry-go-round but the quality of said years too. After all, there's little point living to 200 just for the sake of it… rocking gently back and forth like a timid mallard having given up 3 half centuries ago. 

I knew nothing of the authors, but what they did do for this book is get themselves over to Japan to see for themselves what's going on and how we could apply some of their lifestyle. 

The region of Okinawa, an island off the south of Japan (and in particular, Ogimi, a village on the north of that island) is known to have the oldest average living residents on earth. There be something in those waters!

Some great quotes from the book followed by my additional thoughts…

The people of Japan believe that everyone has an ikigai – a reason to jump out of bed each morning. 

The basic definition of Ikigai - a reason for being. Deep, man. 

It's the sweet spot where you merge what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for. 

Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years — Japanese proverb 

You gotta keep moving! The rolling stone gathers no moss. Just ask Mick Jagger…

In all seriousness, you need to stay active, both mind and body… otherwise that's it, you're on your way out. If you're not growing, you're dying and other clichés too numerous to mention. 

This Japanese concept, which translates roughly as “the happiness of always being busy,” is like logotherapy, but it goes a step beyond. 

Slightly different translation but let's go with it ;). 

The first mention of Logotherapy, which is an important concept and overlaps with Ikigai. If you're unaware, Logotherapy is a branch of psychology (existential analysis) developed by Viktor Frankl, who of course is well known for his time spent in concentration camps during the holocaust. He also wrote the famous book, Man's Search for Meaning which contained aspects of his horrific experiences at that time as well as his body of work.  

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.” 

Jolly nice of them. We could all do with remembering ichariba chode from time to time. I don't think you need the point hammered home but the 'treat unto others' concept is well versed in religious texts and a good way to be. 

From an early age they practice yuimaaru, or teamwork, and so are used to helping one another. 

No man is an island etc. Collaboration. 

Good time for an African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”

Let's do both. Fast and far. We're the tortoise and the hare. 

According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai—what a French philosopher might call a raison d’être. 

Apparently so. We have to ask ourselves why people have such a hard job of discovering it, much less put the bugger(s) into practice. 

There is, in fact, no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense of “leaving the workforce for good” as in English. 

Retiring from what? It's funny that in the west we have this weird little layout, where you have sections of life for different things, with a beginning and an end point. This wacky little 'alternative' path could simply be called life. 

Languages are interesting, so pay attention. It's not just about words replacing other words. It's about different meanings, grammatical shifts and some words just simply not existing at all! (or multiple words saying the supposed same thing). This says a lot about the culture and philosophies of the people. 

Their blood tests reveal fewer free radicals (which are responsible for cellular aging), as a result of drinking tea and eating until their stomachs are only 80 percent full. 

Whip those radicals down to size. They're far to free for my liking. 

Tea is an excellent antioxidant as well as many other benefits, with no down-side as far as I know. With black tea you have the caffeine aspect which could present an issue in large quantities. Dive in to some green and white tea, that'll see you right. 

We'll come back to the 80% rule shortly, super important and a game-changer…

…CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE! 

~ Adam

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Creative Director & Copywriter @ FortressFree.com

Adam (that's me!) is a Spain based English copywriter and creates spice-filled words for adventurous brands worldwide! Feel free to check out my profile and other articles… and of course, do get in contact if you'd like to chit-chat exciting creative writing projects!