Education is Freedom
Paulo Friere
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles
“Once you discover your ikigai, pursuing it and nurturing it every day will bring meaning to your life.”
According to Japanese culture, each one of us holds deep within us, an ikigai. A reason for being, a life’s purpose, a driving force that awakens within us the fires of desire to contribute something meaningful to this world. More than a guiding force, our ikigai can quite often be our saviour in more ways than one.
Discovering our ikigai may be a long and arduous path, with life’s many lessons acting as signposts to this ethereal destination. The authors of this book, Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles, recognise the importance this journey has and have devoted time to understanding how spiritual aspects of the Japanese way of life can align us with this higher growth. Once understood and integrated into our lives, these insights and practices can illuminate our ikigai and change the course of our lives forever.
It is no coincidence that mindful and physical practices that are known to lead to a long and healthy life, also lead you to your ikigai. Regular movement, engaging the mind, forming meaningful connections with those around you, being conscious of the quality and quantity of the food you consume, and finding the peace of mind to fall into flow during intentional focus are all found to be essential elements that shape a fulfilling ikigai.
To demonstrate the effect these principals can have on our wellbeing, Hector and Francesc focus on the experiences of the inhabitants of Okinawa, Japan, a place that boasts one of the highest number of centenarians in the world. The sage advice embodied in this community serves to remind us what is really important in this life, and that reconnecting with and listening to our souls could be the best thing we could ever do for ourselves.