I have always been fascinated by linguistics, how each language has its own distinct personality- and with it, certain words that exist solely in that tongue. Japanese philosophies in particular have always piqued my interest. It wasn’t until visiting Japan that I saw each concept manifest in the real world.

You will find that Japanese philosophy tends to focus on a few core ideas- change, nature, singularity, and the connection between the three. It is this school of thought that has so greatly influenced my own values. To live by Japanese philosophy is to live the full spectrum of the human experience.

These are my favorite Japanese philosophies, in no particular order.

• Kaizen 改善- Continuous improvement, becoming better with each day. Life is filled with constant change, and thus the soul must change with it- welcoming in a higher plane of life.

• Ichi-go ichi-e 一期一会- “One time, one meeting,” the recognition that the present moment is rare and impermanent. The gratitude and mindfulness that what you experience in the now will never occur again.

• Yūgen 幽玄- A sense of profound awe in the vastness of our universe, a feeling too powerful for words. The realization that the universe possesses a forever mysterious, mesmerizing beauty.

• Mono no aware 物の哀れ- A deep appreciation for the impermanence of life, an understanding of inevitable change, a recognition of the seasonality of the human experience. 

• Wabi-sabi 侘寂- A celebration of beauty in the imperfect. An appreciation for the inevitable nature of imperfection, incompleteness, impermanence.

• Ma 間- The space between things, interval, where meaning and balance occur.

• Ikigai 生き甲斐- “A reason for being,” the intersection of what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.