Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
2016, 194 pages
Nonfiction
Ikigai can be translated as your purpose in life, or “the happiness of always being busy.” Héctor García, a blogger and former software engineer, and author Francesc Miralles are curious about this concept of ikigai, and they travel to the island of Okinawa in Japan. Okinawa has the highest average of people who are over 100 – far more than the world average. They want to know the secret to the extraordinary long lives of the villagers of Ogimi. They find several factors. Almost all of them have a garden, see friends every day, move every day, eat well, (but not too much), and celebrate a lot.
They also don’t “retire” as Westerners do. They find their passion. “They achieve a state of flow,” which is doing something that they enjoy so much that they lose themselves in it, and time passes quickly. The book includes the ikigai diet, and there are exercises to try, also advice on how to be resilient and face life’s problems without letting stress age you.
There are 10 rules of ikigai in the back of the book. Among them are: Stay active, Take it slow, Get in shape, Smile, Surround yourself with friends, Live in the moment, and Find your ikigai. Words to live (a long time) by.
Robbin BaileyConcord Public Library
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