IKIGAI was on the TBR list ever since a friend recommended it to me. As I am bad at flitting between books, this one had to wait till I wrapped up the book I was reading then. Surprisingly during a recent visit to my friend's place, juxtaposed with "Educated" by Tara Westover and another book, the word "IKIGAI", etched on the spine of a baby blue cover caught my eye. Without a second thought, I picked it up from the bookshelf and went on a reading spree. It's fascinating to easily associate with any piece of art, realising that we have all devised a set of routines and coping mechanisms based on our personal experiences. What a great relief it is to know that the tried-and-tested principles we have allowed ourselves to follow are not just our discoveries but happen to be one of the most powerful approaches to attaining a state of calm! Osho once said, "Peace of Mind is a Contradiction in Terms". Peace cannot prevail when you have a mind that's constantly looking for moments to spurt emotions, anxiety being the worst one. One has to transcend emotions and go beyond the mind to attain inner peace, he says.
Through statistical data and anecdotal records, the authors of this book furnish a compulsive account of the lifestyle choices of the Centenarians in Okinawa. At this time and age filled with Monday blues relying on caffeine treatment and Mobile Phones that have become our inevitable extensions, it is very hard to wake up every morning with a purpose habitually. With mounting distractions every passing day, the line that demarcates the virtual and real world is getting blurred bit by bit. I once saw a 4-minute read on "Writing for the 15-second attention span" on Wix and wondered about the inevitable impact created by this technology-driven fast-paced world. We can't apply the brakes on the matters running around us but an internal change is definitely doable. Training the mind to handle things differently in a way that keeps one stoic necessitates a lot of practice and willpower. When that happens, it's much easier to channel the focus and flow completely into what we want to do to keep ourselves busy and find happiness in anything we take up. It's high time we all wake up and start appreciating everything we are blessed with and treasure the pricelessness of this spiritual journey towards a beautiful destination called death. IKIGAI is all about finding a purpose for one's own fulfilment and an alignment of interests- A fusion of passion, profession, mission and vocation.
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