I picked up this book curious to learn about Ikigai - “the happiness of always being busy.”
The book approaches the study of Ikigai through the perspective of the long-lived people of Ogimi in Okinawa, Japan. This community has many people over the age of 80 who remain very active in their community.
<aside> 💡 This review is also posted to my blog - www.jasoncoelho.com
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Okinawa is considered a Blue zone - a geographical area where people live the longest.
Blue zones and the people that live in them have specific distinguishing characteristics.
I found the following characteristics of the Okinawan people to be interesting-
Okinawans follow an ancient zen practice of - Hara hachi bu. This advocates stopping eating when you feel 80 percent full.
Hara hachi bu is an ancient practice. The twelfth-century book on Zen Buddhism Zazen Youjinki recommends eating two-thirds as much as you might want to. Eating less than one might want is common among all Buddhist temples in the East. Perhaps Buddhism recognized the benefits of limiting caloric intake more than nine centuries ago.