We are living in the modern era of internet, smart gadgets, re-usable rockets, artificial intelligence and what not. The world is so occupied even though it is shrinked to our fingertip!! In spite of these technological advancements we are aware of the adverse effects of this way of living. We see stress, anxiety, chronic diseases, dissatisfaction, obesity almost everywhere.
While engaged in day to day busy life, have you ever come across these questions like…Why were you born on this wonderful planet? What is the meaning of life and your existence? What is happiness? What is unique in you? Right, these questions points to a single word as answer “Purpose”. Purpose or Ikigai as termed in Japanese, answers all our why’s.
As Mark Twain said, “ The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and find out why”. The day you have discovered the reason for being, the very moment you could answer “why”, we start looking into life with a new perspective, altogether a new angle. It gives better clarity towards life. We start to embrace the gift of life, we redefine things and situations we are associated with, With the constructive mindset we grab every opportunity we come across.
Now let me speak about “Ikigai”, ‘iki’ means ‘to live’ and ‘gai’ refers to ‘reason’. This is the Japanese concept referring to having a direction or purpose in life, providing a sense of fulfillment to a person, and towards which they may take actions, giving them satisfaction and sense of meaning. In other words it helps you to find yourself and your passion or what you are good at, also helps you to develop and master the skill eventually turns into profession, which buys you bread and butter. So here you are driven to acquire the knowledge with love and passion, to give away the best – ‘your masterpiece’. There is no doubt that it not only gives you sense of fulfillment but also livelihood. This can definitely help us to live better. Can we conclude by saying that knowing the purpose can help us to lead a stress free and healthy life?
Wrapping things up, having a purpose for living in this wonderful planet will help us live better and contribute to ourselves and the society. It helps us to realise how unique we are and makes us feel valuable. So let us have a purpose and lead a healthy and meaningful life.