SIX: LESSONS FROM JAPAN CENTENARIANS
(TRADITIONS AND PROVERBS FOR HAPPINESS AND LONGEVITY)
Food won’t help you live longer. The secret is smiling and having a good time.
1. Our days in Ogimi were intense but relaxed—sort of like the lifestyle of the locals, who always seemed to be busy with important tasks but who, upon closer inspection, did everything with a sense of calm. They were always pursuing their ikigai, but they were never in a rush. Not only did they seem to be happily busy, but we also noticed that they followed the other principles for happiness that Washington Burnap stated two hundred years ago: “The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for“.
2. A few especially meaningful and inspiring statements from Ogimi:
• Don't worry
“The secret to a long life is not to worry. And to keep your heart young—don’t let it grow old. Open your heart to people with a nice smile on your face. If you smile and open your heart, your grandchildren and everyone else will want to see you”.
“The best way to avoid anxiety is to go out in the street and say hello to people. I do it every day. I go out there and say, ‘Hello!’ and ‘See you later!’ Then I go home and care for my vegetable garden. In the afternoon, I spend time with friends”.
“Here, everyone gets along. We try not to cause problems. Spending time together and having fun is the only thing that matters”.
• Cultivate good habits
“The key to staying sharp in old age is in your fingers. From your fingers to your brain, and back again. If you keep your fingers busy, you’ll live to see one hundred”.
“I eat a bit of everything; I think that’s the secret. I like variety in what I eat; I think it tastes better”.
“Working. If you don’t work, your body breaks down”.
• Nurture your friendships every day
“Getting together with my friends is my most important ikigai. We all get together here and talk—it’s very important. I always know I’ll see them all here tomorrow, and that’s one of my favorite things in life”.
“My main hobby is getting together with friends and neighbors”.
“Talking each day with the people you love, that’s the secret to a long life”.
• Live an unhurried life
“My secret to a long life is always saying to l myself, ‘Slow down,’ and ‘Relax.’ You live much longer if you’re not in a hurry”.
“I make things with wicker. That’s my ikigai. The first thing I do when I wake up is pray. Then I do my exercises and eat breakfast. At seven I calmly start working on my wicker. When I get tired at five, I go visit my friends”.
“Doing many different things every day. Always staying busy, but doing one thing at a time, without getting overwhelmed”.
“The secret to long life is going to bed early, waking up early, and going for a walk. Living peacefully and enjoying the little things. Getting along with your friends. Spring, summer, fall, winter . . . enjoying each season, happily”.
• Be optimistic
“Every day I say to myself, ‘Today will be full of health and energy. Live it to the fullest’”.
“Laugh. Laughter is the most important thing. I laugh wherever I go”.
“I do volunteer work to give back to the village a bit of what it has given to me. For example, I use my car to help friends get to the hospital”.
“There’s no secret to it. The trick is just to live“.
SEVEN: THE IKIGAI DIET
(WHAT THE WORLD'S LONGEST-LIVING PEOPLE EAT AND DRINK)
1. What secrets to long life do the Japanese hold? What is it about Okinawa that makes it the best of the best in terms of life expectancy? Experts point out that, for one thing, Okinawa is the only province in Japan without trains. Its residents have to walk or cycle when not driving. It is also the only province that has managed to follow the Japanese government’s recommendation of eating less than ten grams of salt per day.
2. Bradley J. Willcox and D. Craig Willcox joined Makoto Suzuki’s research team and published a book considered the bible on the subject, The Okinawa Program:
• Locals eat a wide variety of foods, especially vegetables. They ate an average of eighteen different foods each day, a striking contrast to the nutritional poverty of our fast-food culture.
• They eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. At least seven types of fruits and vegetables are consumed by Okinawans on a daily basis. The easiest way to check if there is enough variety on your table is to make sure you’re “eating the rainbow”.
• Grains are the foundation of their diet. Japanese people eat white rice every day, sometimes adding noodles. Rice is the primary food in Okinawa, as well.
• They rarely eat sugar, and if they do, it’s cane sugar.
3. Hara hachi bu. It’s easy to do: When you notice you’re almost full but could have a little more . . . just stop eating! One easy way to start applying the concept of hara hachi bu is to skip dessert. Or to reduce portion size. The idea is to still be a little bit hungry when you finish.
The key to staying healthy while consuming fewer calories is eating foods with a high nutritional value (especially “superfoods”) and avoiding those that add to our overall caloric intake but offer little to no nutritional value.
4. The calorie restriction we’ve been discussing is one of the most effective ways to add years to your life. If the body regularly consumes enough, or too many, calories, it gets lethargic and starts to wear down, expending significant energy on digestion alone. Another benefit of calorie restriction is that it reduces levels of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1) in the body. IGF-1 is a protein that plays a significant role in the aging process; it seems that one of the reasons humans and animals age is an excess of this protein in their blood.
An alternative to following the 80 percent rule on a daily basis is to fast for one or two days each week. The 5:2 (or fasting) diet recommends two days of fasting (consuming fewer than five hundred calories) every week and eating normally on the other five days. Among its many benefits, fasting helps cleanse the digestive system and allows it to rest.
5. Okinawans drink more Sanpin-cha—a mix of green tea and jasmine flowers—than any other kind of tea. In addition to all the antioxidant benefits of green tea, it boasts the benefits of jasmine, which include:
~ Reducing the risk of heart attack
~ Strengthening the immune system
~ Helping relieve stress
~ Lowering cholesterol
Foods that should be eliminated are refined sugar and grains, processed baked goods, and prepared foods, along with cow’s milk and all its derivatives. Following this diet will help you feel younger and slow the process of premature aging.
EIGHT: GENTLE MOVEMENT, LONGER LIFE
(EXERCISES FROM THE EAST THAT PROMOTE HEALTH AND LONGEVITY)
1. Studies from the Blue Zones suggest that the people who live longest are not the ones who do the most exercise but rather the ones who move the most. When we visited Ogimi, the Village of Longevity, we discovered that even people over eighty and ninety years old are still highly active. They don’t stay at home looking out the window or reading the newspaper. Ogimi’s residents walk a lot, do karaoke with their neighbors, get up early in the morning, and, as soon as they’ve had breakfast—or even before—head outside to weed their gardens. They don’t go to the gym or exercise intensely, but they almost never stop moving in the course of their daily routines.
2. We’ll take a look at some of the practices that promote health and longevity:
• Radio taiso
The exercises take five or ten minutes, depending on whether you do all or only some of them. They focus on dynamic stretching and increasing joint mobility. One of the most iconic radio taiso exercises consists of simply raising your arms above your head and then bringing them down in a circular motion. It is a tool to wake up the body, an easy mobility workout that is low in intensity and that focuses on exercising as many joints as possible.
• Yoga
The word yoga itself comes from the Sanskrit term for “yoke,” which refers to the crosspiece that binds draft animals to one another and to the cart they’re pulling. Yoga strives to unite body and mind in the same
way, guiding us toward a healthy lifestyle in harmony with the world around us.
• Tai chi
Tai chi was originally a neijia, or internal martial art, meaning its goal was personal growth. Focused on self-defense, it teaches those who practice it to defeat their adversaries by using the least amount of force possible and by relying on agility.
• Qigong
• Shiatsu
Created in Japan in the early twentieth century, principally for the treatment of
arthritis, shiatsu also works on energy flow through the application of pressure with the thumbs and the palms of the hands. In combination with stretching and breathing exercises, it seeks to create equilibrium among the different elements of the body.
3. Sun Simiao was a proponent of a technique called the Six Healing Sounds, which involves the coordination of movement, breathing, and pronouncing sounds with the purpose of bringing our souls to a place of calm. The six sounds are:
~ Xu, pronounced like “shh” with a deep sigh, which is associated with the liver
~ He, pronounced like “her” with a yawn, which is associated with the heart
~ Si, pronounced like “sir” with a slow exhale, which is associated with the lungs
~ Chui, pronounced like “chwee” with a forceful exhale, which is associated with
the kidneys
~ Hoo, pronounced like “who,” which is associated with the spleen
~ Xi, pronounced like “she, ” which connects the whole body
NINE: RESILIENCE AND WABI-SABI
(HOW TO FACE LIFE-CHALLENGES WITHOUT LETTING STRESS AND WORRY AGE YOU)
1. Resilience isn’t just the ability to persevere. It is also an outlook we can cultivate to stay focused on the important things in life rather than what is most urgent, and to keep ourselves from being carried away by negative emotions. Sooner or later, we all have to face difficult moments, and the way we do this can make a huge difference to our quality of life. Proper training for our mind, body, and emotional resilience is essential for confronting life’s ups and downs.
Nana korobi ya oki 七転び八起きFall seven times, rise eight—Japanese proverb
2. Resilience is our ability to deal with setbacks. The more resilient we are, the easier it will be to pick ourselves up and get back to what gives meaning to our lives. Resilient people know how to stay focused on their objectives, on what matters, without giving in to discouragement. Their flexibility is the source of their strength: They know how to adapt to change and to reversals of fortune. They concentrate on the things they can control and don’t worry about those they can’t.
God, give us grace to accept with serenitythe things that cannot be changed,Courage to change the thingswhich should be changed,and the Wisdom to distinguishthe one from the other—Reinhold Niebuhr.
3. Worrying about things that are beyond our control accomplishes nothing. We should have a clear sense of what we can change and what we can’t, which in turn will allow us to resist giving in to negative emotions. In the words of Epictetus, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react that matters.
4. Another key to cultivating resilience is knowing in which time to live. The present is all that exists, and it is the only thing we can control. Instead of worrying about the past or the future, we should appreciate things just as they are in the moment, in the now. The only moment in which you can be truly alive is the present moment.
Being aware of the impermanence of things does not have to make us sad; it should help us love the present moment and those who surround us.
5. Wabi-sabi is a Japanese concept that shows us the beauty of the fleeting, changeable, and imperfect nature of the world around us. Instead of searching for beauty in perfection, we should look for it in things that are flawed, incomplete. This is why the Japanese place such value, for example, on an irregular or cracked teacup. Only things that are imperfect, incomplete, and ephemeral can truly be beautiful, because only those things resemble the natural world.
6. A complementary Japanese concept is that of ichi-go ichi-e, which could be translated as “This moment exists only now and won’t come again”. It is heard most often in social gatherings as a reminder that each encounter—whether with friends, family, or strangers—is unique and will never be repeated, meaning that we should enjoy the moment and not lose ourselves in worries about the past or the future.
Ichi-go ichi-e teaches us to focus on the present and enjoy each moment that life brings us. This is why it is so important to find and pursue our ikigai.Wabi-sabi teaches us to appreciate the beauty of imperfection as an opportunityfor growth.
7. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains in Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, we use the word fragile to describe people, things, and organizations that are weakened when harmed, and the words robust and resilient for things that are able to withstand harm without weakening, but we don’t have a word for things that get stronger when harmed (up to a point). To refer to the kind of power possessed by the Hydra of Lerna, to talk about things that get stronger when they are harmed, Taleb proposes the term antifragile: “Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better”.
8. How can we be more antifragile?
~ Step 1: Create redundancies
Instead of having a single salary, try to find a way to make money from your hobbies, at other jobs, or by starting your own business. The same idea goes for friendships and personal interests. Why should I add anything new? It might seem like a waste of time to add variation to our lives, because extraordinary things don’t ordinarily happen. But the unexpected always happens, sooner or later.
~ Step 2: Bet conservatively in certain areas and take many small risks in others
The key to becoming antifragile is taking on small risks that might lead to great reward, without exposing ourselves to dangers that might sink us, such as investing $10,000 in a fund of questionable reputation that we saw advertised in the newspaper.
~ Step 3: Get rid of the things that make you fragile
Ask yourself: What makes me fragile? Certain people, things, and habits generate losses for us and make us vulnerable. Who and what are they? To build resilience into our lives, we shouldn’t fear adversity, because each setback is an opportunity for growth. If we adopt an antifragile attitude, we’ll find a way to get stronger with every blow, refining our lifestyle and staying focused on our ikigai.
Life is pure imperfection, as the philosophy of wabi-sabi teaches us, and the passage of time shows us that everything is fleeting, but if you have a clear sense of your ikigai, each moment will hold so many possibilities that it will seem almost like an eternity.
EPILOGUE
(IKIGAI: THE ART OF LIVING)
1. Mitsuo Aida was one of the most important calligraphers and haikuists of the
twentieth century. Many of Aida’s haikus philosophize about the importance of the present moment, and the passage of time. The poem reproduced below could be translated as “In the here and now, the only thing in my life is your life”.
いまここにしかないわたしのいのちあなたのいのち
In another poem, Aida writes simply, “Here, now”. It is an artwork that seeks to evoke feelings of mono no aware (a melancholy appreciation of the ephemeral).
いまここ
The following poem touches on one of the secrets of bringing ikigai into our lives: “Happiness is always determined by your heart”.
しあわせはいつも自分の心がきめる
This last one, also by Aida, means “Keep going; don’t change your path”.
そのままでいいがな
2. Once you discover your ikigai, pursuing it and nurturing it every day will bring meaning to your life. The moment your life has this purpose, you will achieve a happy state of flow in all you do, like the calligrapher at his canvas or the chef who, after half a century, still prepares sushi for his patrons with love.
3. Our ikigai is different for all of us, but one thing we have in common is that we are all searching for meaning. When we spend our days feeling connected to what is meaningful to us, we live more fully; when we lose the connection, we feel despair. Modern life estranges us more and more from our true nature, making it very easy for us to lead lives lacking in meaning. Powerful forces and incentives (money, power, attention, success) distract us on a daily basis; don’t let them take over your life.
4. Our intuition and curiosity are very powerful internal compasses to help us connect with our ikigai. Follow those things you enjoy, and get away from or change those you dislike. Be led by your curiosity, and keep busy by doing things.that fill you with meaning and happiness. It doesn’t need to be a big thing: we might find meaning in being good parents or in helping our neighbors. There is no perfect strategy to connecting with our ikigai. But what we learned from the Okinawans is that we should not worry too much about finding it.
Life is not a problem to be solved. Just remember to have something that keeps you busy doing what you love while being surrounded by the people who love you.
5. The ten rules of ikigai:
• Stay active; don’t retire. Those who give up the things they love doing and do well lose their purpose in life. That’s why it’s so important to keep doing things of value, making progress, bringing beauty or utility to others, helping out, and shaping the world around you, even after your “official” professional activity has ended.
• Take it slow. Being in a hurry is inversely proportional to quality of life. As the old saying goes, “Walk slowly and you’ll go far”. When we leave urgency behind, life and time take on new meaning.
• Don’t fill your stomach. Less is more when it comes to eating for long life, too. According to the 80 percent rule, in order to stay healthier longer, we should eat a little less than our hunger demands instead of stuffing ourselves.
• Surround yourself with good friends. Friends are the best medicine, there for confiding worries over a good chat, sharing stories that brighten your day,.getting advice, having fun, dreaming . . . in other words, living.
• Get in shape for your next birthday. Water moves; it is at its best when it flows fresh and doesn’t stagnate. The body you move through life in needs a bit of daily maintenance to keep it running for a long time. Plus, exercise releases hormones that make us feel happy.
• Smile. A cheerful attitude is not only relaxing—it also helps make friends. It’s good to recognize the things that aren’t so great, but we should never forget what a privilege it is to be in the here and now in a world so full of possibilities.
• Reconnect with nature. Though most people live in cities these days, human beings are made to be part of the natural world. We should return to it often to recharge our batteries.
• Give thanks. To your ancestors, to nature, which provides you with the air you breathe and the food you eat, to your friends and family, to everything that brightens your days and makes you feel lucky to be alive. Spend a moment every day giving thanks, and you’ll watch your stockpile of happiness grow.
• Live in the moment. Stop regretting the past and fearing the future. Today is all you have. Make the most of it. Make it worth remembering.
• Follow your ikigai. There is a passion inside you, a unique talent that gives meaning to your days and drives you to share the best of yourself until the very end. If you don’t know what your ikigai is yet, as Viktor Frankl says, your mission is to discover it.
IKIGAI: THE JAPANESE SECRET TO A LONG AND HAPPY LIFE
HECTOR GARCIA & FRANCESC MIRALLES
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