Ikigai in Iceland
Landmannalaugar, Iceland - August 2024
Ikigai is a concept I’ve been reading about recently in preparation for the Tale of Ihsan: The Makers of Japan. Admittedly, I learned about Ikigai through articles written from a Western context, but I would like to learn it from the Japanese context on the ground, inshaAllah (God Willing) as I hear the concept is more nuanced. In short, Ikigai is translated as a reason for being, a Japanese philosophy for finding purpose in life. There are four parts to Ikigai: something we are good at, something we love to do, something the world needs, and something that generates money. The beautiful part about Ikigai is that all must exist together to create the ultimate balance. How striking a concept is it that following a passion that brings no benefit to self or the community is fruitless. Or a heartless pursuit of a career without consideration for one's skills or what one likes builds resentment. Iceland is my land of spirituality and I reflected on this concept during my August trip as my life changed a lot this past summer.
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I ended up on a Spanish speaking tour on my latest trip to Iceland. There were pockets of dancing, clapping to music, and plenty of cigarette smoking during the bus ride. For someone whose high school Spanish was barely clinging onto any familiar words, I was really enjoying myself and shyly clapping along!
Music. Clapping. Connection. I sat in my college engineering class feeling out of place. String theory is pretty cool. It’s the stringiest of things that makes life tickle more. If I just ran away now, would anyone notice? No, that’s silly. I have to do this and get my degree because that is what everyone else around me is doing. I was going to make my family proud by working a corporate job, having a cool cubicle, and doing engineering work all day, YAH! … It’s a respectable career choice and I am blessed to be here… but me, an engineer?
Behind me, I heard a language that sounded German. There was a girl speaking on the phone with rosy cheeks and long, brown hair. I was momentarily startled when my FitBit watch thingy vibrated congratulating me for hitting 10,000 steps. I didn’t walk those 10,000 steps, the bus ride was just very bumpy as we were off-roading to the Highlands. She got off the phone and attempted a conversation with a girl next to her in English. “ENGLISH! Someone here speaks in English!” I thought excitedly. I booked the tour to meet travelers and hear their stories, afterall! With the best of my human judgment, I jumped into the conversation asking the girl her name and where she was from.
“I am from Switzerland and here in Iceland to plan retreats for healing through sounds!” she said with an enthusiastic relief in her voice. As if she waited her whole life to be able to say that. It was a familiar feeling.
She told me her story of facing confusion and going to “the trees and the wind” because she felt a calling for something and sought clarity. As she was explaining, all I could think about was how similar our journey was. She went to nature to ask for clarity and openings and I turned to my Rab (God) in the middle of the night for years asking for clarity and openings. Somehow, both of us were called to Iceland for a purpose. And just like that, two dreamers met. The only two non-Spanish speakers on the bus who met by Allah’s will.
“Nida, you’re doing it wrong!” my boss said as he snatched the mouse away from my hand. My roadway design had the incorrect curvature based on the design speed and he just needed to make some friendly edits. I had tears queued at the gates of my tear ducts. If you’d like to get technical, the pressure of holding it back was about 30 psi. But I held it in as I had to maintain professionalism. Osama’s sister was going to be performing in a play that night and I had something to look forward to! It’s creative, I love creativity and seeing people’s art on display! I just have to get through this. My passions can be pursued on the side! Ok… roadway design… let’s do this.
The bus parked at the entrance of the Landmannalaugar trail. It was a beautiful scene: freshly fallen snow on the colorful mountains, plumes of smoke from the geothermal activity, and lava fields as far as the eye could see.
“It’s possible. You’re not stuck. You have options - it just requires some lifestyle adjustments” Saad said. A life where I have balance, where I can be meaningful to my community, make income to be generous with it, and still do something I am inclined to? Seems like a far-fetched dream.
“So I sold my things, got a van and drove to Iceland because my heart was certain this is what I should do” she said confidently as we walked the trail together. “What about you?” she asked.
“It’s my ego, isn’t it - stopping me from quitting my job? Or is it security? Or is it a sense of failure for “wasting” my degree?” Othman shook his head “it’s the golden handcuffs.”
“I want to connect to people and understand people different from me. I want to bring people to places where they can reflect on how they can have meaning in their life and live in a way that is intentional and is constantly tied to Allah.” I responded. “But I am confused. I have this dream and a will to make it happen, I just don’t know how I am going to get there and I feel ashamed to give up what I have already.” She acknowledged my concern with a smile. She felt like a blessing, like someone who understood what it was like to feel like to unlearn a lifetime of lessons. We hiked on for miles, discussing the beauty of fate and the people we meet along the way.
Outside the Almar Bakari as we were getting ready to part, she said “Things come together if you open your heart to it, I believe that and the doors opened for me.” She said goodbye, hugged me, and was off to continue on her journey.
On the ride back to my accommodation, I thought about three things. Number one: I really wanted a bowl of halal chicken ramen and gyoza. Number two: I thought about how a person’s nature will catch up to them. Working a corporate job doesn’t mean a meaningless, dull life. Many find it exhilarating, many are content with their position, and there is value in people who work these jobs in our ecosystem. But it’s the instances when you feel your heart tugging you in a particular direction that warrants listening to. It means there is not one path of life that makes you a useful member of society. No matter how much we try to silence and resist the tugging, it will get louder until we take action. Number three: I thought about something I said to my husband months prior while shopping at Lotte when I was in the peak of my uncertainty: that I wish an old sage with a cane would appear at the end of aisle 7 and tell me what to do. Though the form may not be an old sage with a cane, Vessels (by Allah’s will) do appear in our journey of life to guide us: bit by bit. We must be patient as we are collecting the pieces as it will be a lifelong journey. No matter how scary the unknowns are, no matter how different you feel from others around you, you never are truly alone - all you have to do is ask Allah for help.
