# Ikigai

By [simdeo](https://paragraph.com/@simdeo) · 2022-02-19

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To accept the inevitability of transformation is to openly and wholly embrace your humanity. And there are few immutable characteristics that define our humanness: flaw, sentience, emotion, and a desire to exist purposefully.

_Ikigai_ (a Japanese concept) entered the OED in 2018 and is defined as “a motivating force; something or someone that gives a person a sense of purpose or a reason for living.”

What do you call it? Perhaps, destiny. The meaning of (your) life. A deep, undeniable sense of self. An interconnected, unbreakable value chain which guides your every decision. Whatever your desired nomenclature, I can nearly guarantee you’ve at least posited, whether silently or out loud, “why am I here?”

I’m not certain I particularly know the answer for myself but I do ponder endlessly about humanity. Especially as I look out at the often misled, misinformed and fragmented world we live in -- and that is not to imply I am above it but, in fact, victimized by it. Will we embrace a decentralized future that, if executed well, could restore our sense of identity? And whether or not we do, can we learn _how to ikigai_ and, in doing so, subvert the torrential waves of subjugation seemingly crashing down upon us?

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And thanks Tim for your astute, direct guidance on _How to Ikigai_.

[![]({{DOMAIN}}/editor/youtube/play.png)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk-PcJS2QaU)

\*Musings, points of view and introspection published here represent my personal opinion and are not affiliated with any other person or organization.

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*Originally published on [simdeo](https://paragraph.com/@simdeo/ikigai)*