I would like to celebrate the World Book Day sharing a review of one of my favorite readings of 2019: “Ikigai – The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life” authored by Hector García and Francesc Millares.
The book touches the various aspects of life which can help us to achieve a long happy life. It seems that the ancient Japanese technique called ikigai is the secret to improve your life expenctancy. But what does it mean exactly?
It is a combination of your passion, your mission and your profession; a reason for being and a sense of purpose. The word derives from iki, meaning life and kai, meaning the realisations of hopes and expectations.
The authors focus their attention on Ogimi, a village in Okinawa (Japan) reported to have the world’s longest-living people (age 110 and over). They interviewed villagers report eating a simple, vegetables-based diet high in antioxidants, engaging in continual physical activity and, participating in a strong network of neighborhood groups. The book gives the references of 5 Blue Zones in the world where residents of these places live longer than average and secrets of their long life.
It is known that stress adds up to your age and makes reduce your life duration. A little stress though is good for you since it keeps you going.
There also different techniques that help you keep your mind and body intact like yoga and basic tai chi.
You don’t have to change your life completely , the book shows that being conscious of you daily routine can lead to a better life.
There are similar books from other cultures that I would like to read like “The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to live well” and “Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living”, have you ever heard about them?
In conclusion, I truly loved this book. It is extremely inspiring and full of content. We find our ikigai by concentrating on what isreally important for us. By constantly keeping an eye on what fulfill our life, we are able to discover what our passion is.
Mornings with Claudia 