Mending the pieces: IKIGAI and Kintsugi belong together
Why are we discussing Ikigai and Kintsugi at Finde Zukunft?
The Japanese Ikigai philosophy has a connection to Kintsugi.
Ikigai represents what makes life worth living. Ikigai-kan refers to the experience of realizing meaning and can give us a sense of fulfillment.
Kintsugi is the art of repairing broken objects and making the scars visible with gold. Kintsugi is a metaphor for finding beauty in imperfection and breaking. Through this new perspective, we can accept setbacks and challenges and interpret them in a new way.
IKIGAI AND KINTSUGI
We find meaning not only in the beautiful moments of life. We also find meaning in the tragic moments of life. This is something that Mieko Kamiya, the founder of Ikigai research, knew. She experienced this in her own life when she lost her love early on. The loss of meaning also marked the biography of Viktor Frankl, who showed us how a psychologist could survive a concentration camp. Both observed that people around them had hope, even when the circumstances seemed hopeless. For Mieko Kamiya, these were leprosy patients, for Viktor Frankl, concentration camp and prison inmates.
Mieko Kamiya, Illustration by Your Future Story
Mieko Kamiya defined Ikigai as a personal mission – similar to a personal calling. She initially thought her work as a medical doctor was her Ikigai. But then she discovered her Ikigai in writing about Ikigai. This is how her work "Ikigai-ni-tsuite" came about. She processed her own experiences of losing and finding meaning through it. She found her Ikigai in hardship, in desperate moments, and in coping with grief. This is described in her biography "A Woman with Demons", which is highly recommended despite its seemingly dark title.
“At night, I was absorbed in writing about Ikigai again. Because the ideas were bubbling up inside me, I played quiet piano pieces for an hour. piano pieces, partly to put my children to sleep, and partly to calm myself down. What a moving experience it is that I can combine all my past experiences and my studies with my writing. my writing into a unified whole.”
WE EXPERIENCE IKIGAI IN MOMENTS OF GOLD
Ikigai-kan translates as “Ikigai-feeling”. The truth is, we feel Ikigai-kan not only in moments of mere happiness, but in challenging situations. That is when Ikigai proves itself. In hardship, we know what is truly important to us. The metaphor of Kintsugi can support us in these moments. Kintsugi makes fractures visible.
With Kintsugi, the whole vessel is not gilded, but rather the areas where the shape has broken apart are specifically gilded. These fractures invite us to discover a new meaning in our experiences. We can even discover new value in them.
Kintsugi can help us get closer to our Ikigai
Kintsugi shows us that vulnerability can be a source of strength and inspiration, not weakness. Kintsugi encourages us, to recall our Ikigai in challenging situations.
“In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning.”
Questions for FURTHER reflection
Bring to mind challenging situations of the past. Can you think of a time in your life when you experienced a setback, and were able to find a new sense of meaning in it? Where do you discover golden lines that point to your Ikigai?
How can you apply Ikigai and Kintsugi to your own life and to possible future challenges? How might Ikigai help you in future Kintsugi moments?
