The Purpose of One's Life

The Japanese have a term for one's purpose in life, ikigai ( 生き甲斐 ). This is also the name of a martal arts blog. You can find this blog by clicking on the title of this post, or by finding over on the right. There are loads of articles there. Please pay a visit. I'm sure you'll find something you'll like.

Good news! My oldest daughter found a job. She's the marketing coordinator for the public transportation agency. It's not her dream job, but it's a paycheck in a time when they're getting harder and harder to come by. Besides earning a paycheck, she's gaining some experience and in a few years will be able to move to something more of her liking.

Volleyball is still going strong for my youngest. They came out on top in the first stage of the state championship playoffs by winning their district; a mini tournament consisting of 6 teams. They are one of 32 remaining teams in their class in the state. There is a mini tournament for 4 teams next week called the regionals. It will be competitive, but they are the favorites going into that.

Right now I'm reading Sit Down and Shut Up by Brad Warner. It's an autobiography as well as an explanation of a Zen classic, the Shobogenzo. His prose is really in your face, but he has a knack of getting across what Zen is about.

I haven't mentioned my Japanese language study in a while. I've been concentrating on my study of kanji, which I intend to continue for a while. Then I want to re copy my notes from the beginning of my study, but this time instead of romanji or hiragana, I want to use the correct kanji for all the Japanese parts. What I am hoping to get out of this is to recongize common words made of multiple kanji.

I'm also reviewing Japanese Grammar by Carol Akiyama. It's a very handy book to keep in your pocket when you're in Japan. It covers the breath of the subject in a very concise format.