Ikigai

Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles traveled to Okinawa to interview centenarians about what keeps them going, and the result is a slim, soothing introduction to the Japanese concept of ikigai — the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what sustains you. Short chapters and a low-pressure tone make it easy to pick up and put down. The real strength is that it doesn't demand dramatic reinvention; it just nudges. The honest caveat: this is inspiration, not research. Citations are light, and readers expecting rigorous evidence will be disappointed. Faith-neutral framing draws on Zen-adjacent mindfulness, so readers seeking an explicitly Christian purpose framework may want to supplement. For a gentle, accessible starting point on meaning and longevity, it's worth the few hours it takes.