WHAT’S MY IKIGAI…

WHAT’S MY IKIGAI?

We were at Delhi airport, on our way back from Bishkek to Hyderabad. I was just trying to figure out which book to pick up from a bookstore, when my husband handed over a small blue book to me…..It was a small hardbound book….small, therefore more acceptable to me, rather than the figure I saw on the back cover. I am sharing a few thoughts with you all while talking to my own self…

What’s the meaning of my life? Many a time, you may have found yourself dwelling in these kind of thoughts. What I read in this book is...there is this IKIGAI that is hidden deep inside each of us. Finding it is the real quest of life. It is the reason for which we get up every morning. Some people spend their entire lives without seeking the purpose of their existence. They get up in the morning, get busy in their day to day activities and their whole life passes by without being noticed, by themselves and others around them.

This book tells us about logotherapy, which pushes people to discover their life’s purpose, in order to confront their fears and insecurities. In this therapy, people are guided by therapists to face certain realities that are hard to hear or talk about but help in identifying the purpose and deeper meaning of life and self existence, to become someone who know “WHY” to live and face any “HOW” that comes their way. We do not have to FIGURE OUT any sort of “meaning” in our lives. Its already there…we just have to try and discover it.

Morita Therapy, described by Shona Morita, is a therapy that shows us a way to deal with our negative emotions. It teaches us to accept them as they are without trying to control them. We learn to accept our deepest anxieties, fears and worries as they are and not hold on to them. We have to just accept them as they are and let them go. Negative feelings are a part of our lives too. We have to accept them as they are. Emotions are like the weather, usually beyond our control. As we accept them, instead of trying to eliminate them, concentrate on the present moment, and keep doing what we have to do, we become better in dealing with situations. To take charge of our actions every day, really is the key to achieving our IKIGAI…

Those who have clearly defined their IKIGAI, have the fire in their bellies to pursue what they are passionate about…

I really liked this Japanese proverb in the book…Fall seven times, rise eight….

What really matters is...the resilience to accept and face all that comes our way; the ability to cultivate “ANTI-FRAGILITY”…a step beyond resilience...to emerge stronger with each setback; the ability to get better and better with each defeat and with each catastrophe. Every obstacle seems fragile in front of the resilience of the mind and the passion to pursue our IKIGAI…

WABI SABI is a Japanese concept which shows that beauty lies in asymmetry and imperfection...it is so because such beauty is closer to Nature, which itself is flawed, imperfect and wild but still so ethereal and beautiful. Beauty is far from perfect. The more we focus on symmetry and try to achieve perfection in life…the more we move away from our true selves and Nature, of which we are an integral part. Life has to be accepted with flaws, imperfections, incompleteness and we need to remind ourselves at every step that, IKIGAI leads us towards finding the deeper meaning of our lives, deeper than the water on the surface, which has innumerable ripples and is so turbulent. Deeper inside lies the quest….that keeps us alive.

Have I found myself…MY IKIGAI?