I’m in no man’s land again. My inspiring and educational project with dear colleagues has ended, I was in the process of buying a care farm but heard last week that it is already sold. I don’t feel disappointed. Ah, no work so I am free for the moment. I go for a walk, enjoy the spa, visit friends, look after the neighbor’s dog, eat ice cream with my 93-year-old aunt and book my vacation. And then… it starts to itch. Why?
Wouldn’t everyone want a life like that, I wonder? I love those periods, but at the same time, after a month, it itches again. I want to do something. But how and what?? And why do we always want to do something, instead of just ‘being’?
I want to enjoy all those moments when I don’t need anything at all. In a dream a moving van comes to collect all my things. It feels light and empty. The sofa remains standing and when everything is gone, I sit on the sofa and look out the window. I have a beautiful view of a garden that slopes down and ends in a shimmering lake. I am freed from all kind of ’stuff’ast and I am allowed to stare out of the window. The question is: can we still do that? Can we just be alone? Enjoying to do nothing?
A friend sends the Ikigai model. Iki-gai – living with meaning. Also translated as:
“Finding your reason for being”.
- What you love
- What you are good at
- What the world needs
- And what you can earn money with.
That’s where you should put your talents because that’s where you’re happiest.
It feels like adventure. It turns around. Use my talents and have an impact. I see a world full of fear, Corona has taken a big step on top of it, then war in the Ukraine and now many people are working on the ‘outer game’ instead of the ‘inner game’.
And what is that inner game? And how do you keep calm in the middle of a hurricane? Right there! In your center, in yourself. Where do you have the most impact and the best contribution to your own happiness and that of others? Exactly, in the middle of Ikigai.
I don’t go looking, because my vision board says “What wants to happen?”.
Being open to new ideas, maybe something with real estate and healthcare, maybe something with my mission ‘living my dreamlife and inspire others to do the same’, maybe something I don’t foresee at all. But at least ‘being’ instead of ‘doing’. Create instead of work and struggle. Be open to what is there already instead of looking hard for what’s coming. And enjoy. Enjoying spring, nature, friends, leisure and health. Be in the moment and accepting, enjoying what is.
It is time for a new paradigm, in which dualism gives way to unity and connectedness.
buntu. I am because we are.
Love it.
Love and Light
Marina