Ikigai ~ Another Book on Beach

The annual dinner with Grandmommy at Monkey Pod

Anniversary Dinner

Bill & Sara for 21 Years

On the dolphin boat

Sunset at Ko Olina

Janel & Mary on our night out

Dinner Out

Celebrating Our Anniversary 

I read a better book on Thursday, Ikigai, the Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles.

The book covers the usual topics of diet and exercise but it jumps pretty quickly into finding your purpose. One way to do that is to pay attention to where you lose yourself. Where you are most in your flow. Your focus. When time just flies. I'm not just talking about a week in Hawaii. . .

I made a short list of places besides Hawaii where I lose myself. Where the time goes by without effort. I'm pretty blessed I guess because the list was pretty long.

• Teaching piano. . . the rhythm of each lesson, starting and ending with our Japanese bow and following the routine for the most part and enclosing myself in that bubble with the child, working toward a common goal of ability development and helping children solve problems and understand what makes music beautiful and meaningful. Really it doesn't get any better than that. 
• Gardening. . . being outside and working toward making my garden beautiful. It's physical and mental and creative. It's also lesson after lesson about life. It will never be perfect and we have to keep redoing different areas. You can see the weeds or see the flowers. Gardening is a whole school. Every once in a while like August 7, 2014 the whole thing gets hailed on and ruined and you have to let it go. Try again next year. 
• Decorating. . . making my house pretty, by tweaking houseplants or adjusting things for the season. When I have the chance, this makes me very happy. 
• Writing. . . I think I've been writing here for a long time now. I discovered the blessing of writing when my dad was sick and Susan and I wrote back and forth on his Caring Bridge site. It's never been my intention to write for anyone besides myself. But, since this blog is public there are some responsibilities. I read somewhere lately that our goal in writing should be not to impress people, but to inspire them. A lot of times I share highlights of my family life, in a journalistic sense, so that I don't forget them, I hope that doesn't come across as bragging. I celebrate a lot of other children in my life, my two kids are just the two that I love the most. 

I don't think "parenting" exactly falls under the category of times when I lose myself. Sometimes the only thing that flows is confusion. But, come to think of it, 18 years has seemed to fly back pretty fast. Parenting has definitely brought more personal growth than I ever dreamt, moment by moment each and every single day, a new chance to do better and learn from my mistakes. 

I was dark after reading The Monk's Guide. (See the previous blog entry.) Going home and getting my house put back together and preparing for the events of the next three months seemed overwhelming and insurmountable. How could I get through it all and give choir the attention it needs in the next month and make plans for the summer and get the god-blessed scrapbook done before graduation? 

But Ikigai was uplifting. It's all about purpose. I know what my purpose is for the next three months. Parenting. Practicing for Holy Week, preparing my house and garden in a lovely way for the graduation festivities, getting the piano kids ready for recitals and summer institutes, and making plans for a very special summer. Celebrating Calvin and everything that makes him who he is at this crossroads. All of it. 

It won't be perfect. It will be a little wabi-sabi (the next book I'll tell you about). It will be the beauty of impermanence and imperfection. I'll be asking for a lot of help from family and friends. 

Lord,

Thank you for Hawaii. Thank you for this gift of this sacred place. Our children have grown up here, I can still see their faces the first time they saw the ocean. Thank you for times of retreat. And sunshine. And the ocean. And dolphins and whales and crabs and lizards. And my mother. And my husband who is the only other member of the 4:00 piña colada club. Tomorrow we come down from the mountain. Be with us and remind us of our purpose, our God given purpose as we make our way through the upcoming weeks. 

Amen