Just finished 3 self-help philosophy books centered around Japanese concepts: wabi sabi, ikigai, and kirameki (sparking joy), etc. While I love many facets of Japanese culture and art, have traveled to Tokyo once and am trying and failing at learning the language to be ready for my second trip, I just love the idea of words that are almost untranslatable, that carry with it a meaning beyond the transliteration. And I love applied philosophy, simple life philosophies that some can carry in their heart and art.
A Little Book of Japanese Contentments: Ikigai, Forest Bathing, Wabi-Sabi and more by Erin Niimi Longhurts, Ryo Takemasa as Illustrator
The photos and illustrations were amazing and moving. I felt transported with them alone. Other artful insights from Japan in this book: ikebana, kintsugi, the way of tea, onsens, calligraphy. Beautiful quotes, food, and artforms to explore in this book and what they add to the culture and people who partake, how we can learn to relax and stay present through practicing them.
Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life by Beth Kempton
Follow this beautiful writer as she travels through the season of Japan, into tea rooms and craftsmen workshops with monks and local tourists, as she finds symbolism and meaning on simple traditions that Japan has kept alive for centuries for deep reasons. There’s something deeper to wabi sabi than just the interior design aesthetic.
The Ikigai Journey: A Practical Guide to Finding Happiness and Purpose the Japanese Way by Hector Garcia Puigcerver and Francesc Miralles
Travel from Tokyo to Kyoto on a bullet train and then sit at the Ise Shrine, the ever present, regularly destroyed and recreated Shinto shrine with our two authors to exercise your reflection and inner discovery. Fun exercises and stories that we can try to apply to our own lives to connect to our inner fire.
The Life Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Journey by Marie Kondo, Yuko Uramoto
Fun manga story on how applying the Konmari method opens up space for more joyous items. Reading Marie’s words was important for me to remind myself when things got hard. But the method also calming and naturally gets my brain there too. There’s a great order of events, though personally, I have had to skip over the books and kitchen sections.
These were quick to read and inspiring to apply. They actually went really well together too. The wabi sabi made me comfortable once I started seeing blank spaces open up thru my Konmari tidying. My ikigai let me focus my hobby collections a bit better and create sacred spaces for each. And Japanese Contentments let me feel for focusing on a few meaningful hobbies that could envelop better habits in me. Highly recommended for the overwhelmed, the ones missing a quiet sort of calm, ones who miss or wish to travel to Japan, and those who need some spark to get excited about their home and passions again.
Live-brary’s Summer Reading Club is back! Read as much (or as little) as you’d like, with a chance to win a Live-brary Summer Reading Prize Pack once a week. Prize packs include a free book & a gift card for a frozen treat among other summer themed goodies!
For four weeks, we will be featuring different summer reading posts and tweets on the Līve-brary Facebook and Twitter pages. Anyone who comments on, or interacts with (shares, likes or retweets) the summer reading social media posts will be entered into a random drawing for a chance to win a prize pack. Twitter users who use the hashtag #livebrarysrc will also be entered into the drawing! Summer reading posts will include fun beachy reading lists, pics and a chance for people to share what they are reading this summer. Four prize packs total will be given away by the end of the contest.
How does it work?
Facebook: “Like,” share or comment on any one of the posts mentioning summer reading and you will be entered into a random drawing for a chance to win one of five weekly prize packs.
Twitter: “Retweet,” use the hashtag #livebrarysrc or tweet us your comments about the Līve-brary Summer Reading twitter posts, and you will be entered into a random drawing for a chance to win one of five prize packs.
The contest will run from Monday July 6th, 2015 to Monday August 3rd , 2015. Winning entries will be chosen and announced eat the end of the contest.
Don’t live or work in Suffolk County NY? When anyone uses a public library or enjoys our social media sites, they are winners to us. We love that you shared or commented on one of our posts, but raffle winners must live or work in Suffolk County, N.Y.
For any questions regarding this contest please contact us via direct message on our Facebook or Twitter pages.
