2 ms·
I don't really understand. Is the article saying that how to find meaning in life is by rejecting grand narratives and finding meaning in small things? That sou
by knightoffaith 3y ago
I don't really understand. Is the article saying that how to find meaning in life is by rejecting grand narratives and finding meaning in small things? That sounds to me like saying that how to find meaning in life is by... finding meaning in it. Don't get me wrong, it does seem correct to stop seeking your one true passion, embrace lifelong learning, letting go of lofty financial goals, and stop feeling like your only goal should be saving the world. But I'm not clear on why or how we should, in the "ikigai worldview", find meaning in doing these things.
Really, it seems to me that the implication in the article is that the question "how do I find meaning in life?" is basically the wrong question to ask, that life is not the kind of thing that has meaning, and that we should instead just focus on being happy, which can be accomplished by small things. That would make sense to me.
Though I prefer the western idea that there is a grand life purpose. The 4 "ikigai principles" are perfectly compatible with there being a grand life purpose - that there is a grand narrative in which we are partaking doesn't mean that every individual person has be some world-renowned entrepreneur or something. An analogy - a team of stonemasons working on building a cathedral may each individually be working on a small piece of the final building that, to the individual, doesn't appear very meaningful or important. But the sum total of the work of all the stonemasons culminates in something grand and beautiful.