In this topic, we will be taking a look into 5 Japanese concepts and philosophies to live by.
Ikigai
A reason for being waking up with a sense of purpose is an essential part of japanese life. Your ikigai is how you can best serve others by combining your talent and passion for some it’s their career for others, it may be their hobby.
Ikigai is considered an everyday word in japan and is attributed to their strong work ethic. When doing this, people are said to enter a flow state time seems to disappear and the mind becomes highly focused.
The japanese believe this concept is necessary for a positive life rather than seeing achieving large goals as the key to fulfillment. They see small day-to-day pleasures accumulated as true happiness.
With this in mind, your ikigai is intended to be a regular part of your routine, giving you a continuous sense of achievement throughout your week. The concept has been praised for contributing to japan’s long life expectancy. Okinawa is home to the most centurions anywhere on the planet.
Elderly people are celebrated and feel a duty to pass on their wisdom to the younger generations. This sense of purpose is widely considered a major factor in their long life spans.
Wabi-sabi
Acceptance and appreciation of imperfection. Nature is often in conflict with our ideas of perfection. Its chaotic, unpredictable and harsh temperament can leave us feeling overwhelmed and in disagreement with life. Wabi-Sabi is about appreciating the beauty of nature’s imperfections and accepting reality for what it is.
A perfect example of this concept in action is the japanese art of golden repair or kintsugi. 400 years ago, in japan, a great shogun dropped his favorite tea bowl, causing it to shatter. He sent the pieces to china to be repaired. However, when the item returned, it had lost its identity. The repair used small metal rods to staple the bowl back together, unsatisfied the shogun ordered the bowl to be repaired in japan.
The repairman used a golden substance to glue the pieces back together, highlighting the cracks the tea bowl was now something unique. The golden highlights gave a striking display of the object’s turbulent history. The bowl quickly became the shogun’s favorite again. This concept encourages us to see the beauty of our unique imperfections. The hardships we have overcome often add to our character.
It is the difference between the monotony of mass-produced furniture and the charm of something hand-crafted. Wabi-Sabi can help us to take more action, as it is often our fear of not reaching perfection that holds us back.
Motainai
Japanese culture teaches people to have respect for their personal belongings. The commonly used phrase motinai is a perfect example of this, expressing the shame in items going to waste practicing.
This concept means using physical objects to their fullest potential recycling and repairing nanbu saki ori is a japanese method of weaving dating back to the 18th century. The technique uses old, worn out fabrics to create new items such as clothing and decorations.
The philosophy is also seen in traditional, japanese rice farming, where the entire rice plant is used to create a variety of products. Not just rice. Motainai helps us to show gratitude for our material possessions, save money and protect the environment.
Garman
Enduring the seemingly unbearable, with patience and dignity. Tagamon is to remain calm in the midst of chaos. It’S about developing the ability to withstand suffering without allowing emotions to get the better of you maintaining a stoic non-reactive exterior means. You have mastered gamma. By being taught this concept from an early age, japanese people develop resilience.
They are recognized for overcoming remarkable hardships such as the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Socially. This means people interact more harmoniously by being tolerant of others behavior stemming from zen buddhism. It is fair to assume gaman is cultivated through consistent, meditation sitting, meditation known as zazen is commonly practiced in japan.
In recent times the concept has come under criticism due to its passive nature of dealing with problems.
The philosophy has encouraged people to stay in jobs, they hate put up with workplace bullying or simply to not speak up when something needs to be said. Perhaps gaman is best employed when the bad situation is truly unchangeable.
Mono No Aware
Awareness of the impermanence of things contained within various japanese artistic works is the concept of Mono No Aware. This refers to the deep melancholy emotions experienced when we pay attention to the transient nature of things: the changing of seasons, a final goodbye of lovers, falling petals from a cherry blossom, are commonly seen in japanese art
The japanese show further appreciation of this idea by the custom known as hanami or flower viewing each spring people gather to picnic under cherry blossoms to see them in full bloom.
Within only a week, the flowers fall making it a perfect representation of the concept. The japanese believe this awareness gives everything in our lives more meaning and a greater emotional impact. By practicing mono no aware we are given a richer experience of life.