IKIGAI- The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
I got to read this book of Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles because of one my senior colleagues Dr Ruma Arora. The book starts with an interesting Japanese proverb, which is worth mentioning here- “Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years”. The gist of the book is as follows: 1. Prologue: IKIGAI- A Mysterious Word IKI means life and G AI , the realization of hopes and expectations. This Japanese concept of Ikigai can be roughly translated as “The happiness of always being busy”. Those who discover their Ikigai have everything they need for a long and joyful journey through life. According to WHO, Japan has highest life expectancy in the world; 85 years for men and 87.3 for women. In the island of Okinawa, every 24.55 per 100,000 persons are centenarians. A rural town there, “ Ogimi ” is nicknamed as Village of Longevity. Okinawa Archipelago of Japan 2. IKIGAI- the art of staying young while growing old The author relates Ikigai to...
