The Happiness of Small Things
How do I find my Ikigai?
Dear readers, flower friends, fellow travellers….
In a pensive mood, I’m not sure whether to write - and yet I’m compelled to share my thoughts. Autumn is here, but it doesn’t feel right. In flux, like the weather, the crops and the fragile state of so many parts of our beautiful planet - I don’t know which way to turn. Right now, it’s too easy to get drawn into too many different things. I find myself thinking about a raft of potential creative endeavours, and so, overwhelmed, I retreat, and do nothing. In my mind this raft resembles the floating Cenozoic islands described by Thomas Halliday in his marvellous book ‘Otherworlds’. It is a section adrift, held together by roots, plants and animals clinging on, crossing treacherous waters, sailing from one emerging continent to the next. Will it sink, or will it survive? When it reaches land, what happens? On my raft, I know it’s time to pare back, to lose all unnecessary ballast, to consider only the essentials.
Fortunately this has been the week I discovered the Japanese concept of Ikigai.
Having a clearly defined Ikigai brings satisfaction, happiness, and meaning to our lives. More recent studies have even found that finding your ikigai influences the functioning of the frontal lobe. When creativity has a purpose, there’s motivation and flow. Life can be difficult, but when a creative person follows their Ikigai, they can turn that hardship into creativity to heal, as well as give back to the world and help others with their Ikigai.1
In ‘The Little Book Of Ikigai’ author Ken Mogi describes the five pillars of Ikigai:
Starting small → Focusing on the details.
Releasing yourself → Accepting who you are.
Harmony and sustainability → Relying on others.
The joy of little things → Appreciating sensory pleasure.
Being in the here and now → Finding your flow.
I think about what really matters, that thing, the one thing, the thing that defines - what? My creative practice? My life? For me, the thing is….well, what is it? Is it paper, or is it botany? Is it wildflowers, or trees, or all flowers, everywhere, all at once? I am lost in the endless possibilities and unable to pin down what the thing is. My thing. The one. My ikigai. True purpose, the thing that gets me up and out of bed in the morning. Well, now, here’s the rub. Because right now, the thing that gets me up and out of bed in the morning is not paper, or botany. Right now I need to be a mother, and nothing else really matters.
Except - it does. Because in order to be a good mother - and right now, mothering is taking up most of the strength I have - in order to be a good mother I need to fill the inbetween times with something that matters, because I’m a creative introvert and that’s how I get my strength. And because my energy is low, because motherhood is currently going over the carefully demarcated lines and consuming me, I’m having to work extra hard to maintain my focus and keep my thing going. And so we come back to the question, and I realise, that in order to find my purpose I need to follow the principles of Ikigai.
I must hold onto my basic principles and tenets. Starting small, being outdoors, feeling fresh air on my face, sunlight or drizzle or wind, it’s all good medicine. Connecting to nature - not talking about it, not writing about it but getting out there and breathing the air and soaking up the green. It helps me to think, and goodness knows I need help untangling my thoughts right now. And it inspires me. Time after time I set out with the instruction “no photos today, no foraging” …I can’t help myself.
Recently it’s been leaves, this time I came back with hawthorn, Alexander’s, beech, maple and a sprig of tansy. I’ve been making a lot of leaves recently, working out how to cut and shape different oak leaves, how to arrange chestnut leaves, colouring eucalyptus. Leaves take me into my flow state, when I relax and still my mind. Maybe I just need to feel my way forward. And … flow does not need an audience. Just be. In the moment, mindful, enjoying the small things, not finding, but remembering my Ikigai.
What about you, friends and readers, how do you find your reason and purpose, what is your Ikigai? Please share…let me know you are reading!
With love and until next time, Ling
IN OTHER NEWS There’s a special class happening on 28th October at Bloom Building, Birkenhead. Autumnal colours, paper flowers, 12pm - 3pm find details via this article!
FOR INFO Due to the success of this first series of Paper Flower Evening Classes I’m planning to do it all again in Spring 2024. To reserve a place please send me a message. A perfect Christmas pressie for the crafty one in your family!