It's been a while since my last post and it's already approaching the end of the yar of 2022. Many things happened on the past 2 years including the covid pandemic and how it changed the way we live. Yet we lived and thrived. "What doesn't kill you make you stronger", it proved right in current circumstances. We adopt and adapt as we continue to maintain our existence in this world. It's been a long journey for human being to find the secret of long life or even how to become immortal. We see so many movies and fantasy books about it. Now let's look at it by the example for those who lived until 100 years or even more.
Active mind, youthful body. It's important to give your brain a workout to keep the neurons and neural connections. You begin exercising your brain by doing a certain task for the first time. As the book said, your neurons start to age while we are still in our twenties and this process slowed by intellectual activity, curiosity and desire to learn. Control your stress by having mindfulness. We have to learn to turn off the autopilot that's steering us in an endless loop. However, a little stress is good for you as it tends to develop healthier habits. A lot of sitting will age you and enough sleep will help you to live longer. Positive attitudes, a high degree of emotional awareness, stoic attitudes (serenity in the face of setback) are the antiaging attitudes.
The book is looking at logotherapy as one way to find the purpose of life (compare it with psychoanalysis) and Morita therapy. In logotherapy one of the questions is "why do you not commit suicide?". This question help you find the reasons to live. One of the basic for Morita therapy is discover your life's purpose. We should have a clear sense of our purpose and the key to achieving this is having dared to look inside yourself to find your ikigai.
There is no magic recipe for finding happiness, for living according to your ikigai, but one key ingredient is the ability to reach this state of flow and through this state to have an "optimal experience". Flow is the state in which people are so involved in activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it event at the great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it. Flow is mysterious. It is like muscle: the more you train it, the more you will flow, and the closer you will be to your ikigai.
The book layout some words of wisdom from the longest-living people in the world are "eat and sleep, and you'll live a long time. You have to learn to relax", "I've never eaten meat in my life", "everything's fine", "if you keep your mind and body busy, you'll be around a long time" and "I just haven't died yet". Based on the interview done by the author with people in Ogimi-Okinawa, they summarize the secret to longevity, the secrets are don't worry, cultivate good habits, nurture your friendship every day, live an unhurried life, be optimistic.
The book review Okinawas miracle diets, they are eat wide variety of foods especially vegetables, eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day, grains are the foundation of diet and rarely eat sugar. The book covered some exercise to promote health and longevity such as taiso, yoga, tai chi, qigong, and shiatsu. You can find the philosophy behind the exercise including the movement (with picture) in the book.
Resilience is our ability to deal with setbacks. the more resilience we are, the easier it will pick ourselves up and get back to what gives meaning to our lives. Beyond resilience it's called antifragility. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better. We can be antifragile by create more options, bet conservatively in certain areas and take many small risks in others, get rid of the things that make you fragile. To build resilience into our lives, we shouldn't fear adversity, because each setback is an opportunity for growth.
There is no perfect strategy to connecting with our ikigai. But what we learned from Okinawans is that we should not worry too much about finding it. Life is not a problem to be solved. Just remember to have something that keeps you busy doing what you love while being surrounded by the people who love you. The ten rules of ikigai from the wisdom of the long-living residents of Ogimi-Okinawa are stay active; don't retire, take it slow, don't fill your stomach, surround yourself with good friends, get in shape for your next birthday, smile, reconnect with natur, give thanks, live in the moment, follow your ikigai.
My take outs from the book:
- Find your reason to get up in the morning. For me the reason doesn't to be fancy and those like words of wisdom, as simple as I want to be a better me from yesterday is enough. And it can change every day. Live now and live full.
- Keep your mind and body busy. Keep your brain active by doing something new and move your body. Stay active!
- You are what you eat. Healthy food is not always taste good but it's good for your body. Eat with your mind and not with your tongue.
Happy Holiday Everyone, enjoy your holiday with your loved ones.