Creating a life worth living: Finding your Ikigai
April 12, 2009 by Jennifer
Filed under Blog, How to Meditate, Latest Blog Post, Passionate Purpose, Work-Life Balance
What makes your life worth living? This week’s meditation is about putting your attention back on the good stuff…what makes your life worth living. Sure, we all can probably list what makes our lives most meaningful. But sometimes, we get stuck in busy-ness and forget to spend some time there every day.
The Japanese have a single word for this concept: Ikigai. It comes from Iki, the word meaning breath, spirit, or state of being. According to Dan Buettner’s book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, people who live longer, stronger lives tend to have a strong sense of ikigai. So, check out our meditation, and see how you can focus more today…and in coming weeks…on your own reason for being, your own ikigai:
If you enjoy this meditation, please let me know by leaving your comment here!
May joy light your life,
Jennifer
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Thanks for this great meditation, Jennifer! Luckily, I’m pretty good at making time for the things that make me happy but it’s always nice to have a reminder!
Thank you Jennifer! the excercise was calming as well as invigorating.
I think I’ll come back to it whenever I feel down or there is a lack of energy!
You’re welcome!
Hello Jennifer
I was searching for the meaning of “ikigai” and accidentally run into your website. The exercise was an interesting experience and yet left me sad because somehow I still did not find what is the ikigai in my life…
Greetings
Cassia
It can take time to find your ikigai, especially if your energy is depleted on a daily basis by things that are not in alignment with your purpose. So don’t give up–your answers are all within you. And often life purpose is really just being here, learning what we are learning and growing from the experience. By asking yourself what you are learning from your relationships, your job, your hobbies, and more, you can begin to get a clearer sense of your greater purpose.