According to the Japanese, we all have our IKIGAI, that is, a reason, a purpose for existence, as long as we find it and follow it. Ikigai is one of the secrets to a long, young and happy life, like that of the people of Okinawa, the island with the longest population in the world in the Land of the Rising Sun.
How, where and what will be our own IKIGAI is a purely personal matter. We must search deep within ourselves, ask ourselves many persistent questions, try new things, until we find our own purpose in life. The one who will fill us with joy and give us balance and completeness in our everyday life.
First of all we have to find what our passion is, what we like to do most, discover our talents and then the medium to express it.
In the philosophy of IKIGAI, there are no “barriers”, nothing is isolated from the others. Everything is connected: our personal – family and professional life, our livelihood and our passion. If we manage to combine all these things, either on our own or with the help of a mentor who will help us
find a way to live a balanced life, to have a reason to get out of bed every morning, then congratulations we have found our ICHIGAI and, God willing, we are ready to enjoy our hundred plus years of life! For those of us with a passion for travel, there are ways to follow our Ikigai. We recommend three of them, you will find the rest…
Travel in Greece and around the world
The journey opens spiritual horizons, fills people with life experiences, improves them mentally and physically. Through travel we get to know cultures unknown to us, we experience the culture of different peoples, we gain knowledge through interaction with other people different from us. We learn to communicate and share with other people who don’t speak the same language, don’t have the same customs and traditions. If we belong to the category that we have solved our livelihood problem and we do not have serious family obligations, then we can pack our bags for around the world and “wherever we go”. For the rest of us, we set a goal to take one or two big trips a year, if our job’s financial rewards allow it, or we make a bucket list of dream places we want to visit when we retire and, at the same time, we do our “saving”.
Travel and Volunteering
But for those of us who want to be active citizens and not just travel around the world but also want to contribute to the common good as volunteers, there are many programmes from non-governmental organisations and beyond that give us the opportunity to do so. Programmes that promote environmental protection,
the preservation of cultural heritage, education and social welfare. Volunteers travel at low cost, are provided with food and accommodation and can combine work and holidays together. As the wise people say, “Do good and throw it at the glass”. Work and travel Turning our hobby into a profession seems ideal, especially for those of us who are at the stage in our lives when we are looking for a career. There are many professions that require constant movement or
on a regular basis from our place of residence to another: tourist guide, tour bus driver, medical visitor, salesman and, for the more adventurous, pilot and flight attendant. For those of us with a flair for writing, we can become travel bloggers, travelling around the world and writing about our experiences.
Let us not forget, however, that what will give meaning to our own lives is unique to each of us and it is not necessary to remain faithful to one purpose for our entire lives. As we humans change and evolve, so does our Ikigai. So, let’s not delay any longer, the journey to happiness has just begun…
INFO: Research by Japan’s Iwate Medical University, which began in 1988 and was completed at the beginning of the new millennium, proved that the existence of a positive psychological factor such as Ikigai is associated with longevity. The survey involved 30,155 men and 43,117 women aged between 40 and 79. In an observation over 12.5 years, the researchers found that participants who had found their Ikigai had lower rates of mortality and serious diseases such as
of cardiovascular.
