Truthfully, I find it easy to get out of bed in the mornings, but I can’t say that I always get dressed….Somedays, I can stay in my pyjamas covering them with a big woolly sweater only to find, at the end of the day, that the sweater is removed and I’m back in bed, ‘déjà vu’ style. These are rarely lazy days though. More likely hard working, fruitful days when getting showered and dressed, in the conventional way, seems to be a waste of important daylight hours.

Reflecting on last week’s post about the word ‘retirement’ and now this article – which I am writing as an extension of that thinking – I do have a question. Do these posts fall in line with the, ‘grasping nettles’ theme of the blog, or is it just a filler between trips? I would argue that these articles are an important, ‘sandwich’ between the trips. At this moment in time, when I am transitioning between one thing and another, I am challenging what I have done so far, where I am at, and what is in to the future. This ‘sandwich’ of ideas forms the basis of my thinking.

What I find interesting about myself is that from the outset, I work on intuition, only later analysing what I have done and why. This is far from a foolproof method, but generally has served me well. Shown too here by the stories in my blog so far: I gave up my business, started to re-educate, travel again and now in these last two posts challenging the reasons for my direction and whether I am on the right course. So far so good.

Discussing my post on ‘retirement’ with a good friend last week, he mentioned the concept of ikigai to me. I had to read up on this.

Ikigai (ee- key-guy) is a Japanese word that represents, in short, why people get up in the morning. The Japanese are known for their diligent work ethic and spiritual calmness that in turn gives them longevity. I am interested in the theme of longevity. And why wouldn’t I be? I want to live for as long as possible, and will take guidance, from anywhere, on how to achieve this. Oddly though, in Japanese circles, no one mentions all-day pyjama sessions nourished by a packets of chocolate McVitie’s and glasses of full cream milk.

It was a book by Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones that first highlighted areas in the world where residents were bucking international trends in life expectancy. In the book he explores the reasons for this. Now also covered in a Netflix documentary, ‘Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones’ . The general themes are of : a good diet of vegetables and fruit, continued exercise, sleep, community and in the case of Okinawa in Japan this additional notion, Ikigai. That that gives them : satisfaction, reason for living, and reason to get up each morning.

This was explored further in a book by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles called ‘Ikigai – The Japanese secret to a long and happy life’. I love this simple Venn diagram showing – by the overlapping circles – the relationships between elements of life and then describing to the layperson what Ikigai is. It is food for thought.

My own thoughts turn to my mother, Anne Hayhurst. She knits these intricate covers for Ferro Rocher chocolates ( pic below). Looking at the outer circles of the Venn diagram. She loves to knit, is very good at it, makes money from it for local charities and what does the world need, more charitable people! Has my mother found ikigai? For those that don’t know my mother, although in her early 90’s, she has a spring in her step and metal agility of someone 30 years younger.

As for me – I am still pondering my ikigai…

( main photo : masaaki- komonumi unsplash)(Venn from Ikigal book named) ( Christmas knits – Anne Hayhurst)