What the world needs

What you love. What you are good at. What the world needs

Today I found myself once again improvising a lesson with my advisory students, now sophomores. I'm not going to lie, I was selfish in my improvisation. I'd been thinking a lot lately about direction, paths and plateaus. I'm not planning another adventure, just considering the journey the led me to the career plateau I currently stand on. My view from this plateau clearly shows me how I got to where I am, but I can't see what's next. I don't want to stay on this plateau forever. Where am I going?
Enter ikigai
According to the Government of Japan website ikigai is, "a broad concept, it refers to that which brings value and joy to life: from people, such as one’s children or friends, to activities including work and hobbies."
The concept has been altered by author Hector Garcia, who transformed it from a way of being and living on a Japanese island, to advice for finding meaning in life. In Garcia's view, finding lasting happiness and meaning comes from taking the time to deeply think about: 
What you love
What you are good at
What the world needs 
and What you can be paid for

Image from https://www.japan.go.jp/kizuna/2022/03/ikigai_japanese_secret_to_a_joyful_life.html

I used this worksheet that I developed for a middle school Humanities course and I learned a little bit more about each of my students.
I don't have the answer for each of them, but I did find clarity for myself.
What do I love? 
Ideas, culture, making people feel welcome & comfortable, and curiosity
The people I love to spend time with are endlessly curious
What am I good at?
I'm good at following my curiosity about the voices that are missing from the curriculum. (I wrote my whole dissertation about it.)
I'm good at creating engaging lesson and helping students find relevancy in learning.
I'm good at research and writing.
I'm good at sharing those ideas with the world in a pretty accessible way.
What does the world need (from me)?
The world needs to feel more connected
Americans need to see that we need each other and that includes our fellow humans around the planet,
Americans need to understand the history they share with people who look different from them.
We need to learn to stop spouting angry thoughts and start listening to other people's stories.

Moving Towards Ikigai

I'm leaving out one important element of ikigai - how can I create a sustainable life based on what the world needs, my strengths, and what I really care about?
I'm seeing clearly now that at this moment in time, I can't. Like this abandoned bridge on the south island of New Zealand, the strong foundation is there, the path is set, the destination is even in sight.

So, do I wait?
Dr. King said,""The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
But I need to help bend that arc and I need to do it now. I need to use my passion and skills to start empowering other educators to not be afraid of diversity and equity.
Asian American activist Grace Lee Boggs said, "We never know how our small activities will affect others through the invisible fabric of our connectedness. In this exquisitely connected world, it's never a question of 'critical mass.' It's always about critical connections."

Sharing strategies, lesson plans, and curriculum for including the voices of marginalized groups and individuals may not seem like the kind of "good trouble" John Lewis talked about, but hopefully it begins weaving the "invisible fabric of connectedness."

Someday, hopefully, this will be my full ikigai, but until that happens, I'll keep walking on this plateau, headed towards the next mountain.

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