In this video, Nick Kemp and Miku dive deep into the concept of ikigai and its profound connection to relationships. Nick shares his unique approach to learning Japanese through podcasts like Ken Mogi's, emphasizing the satisfaction of understanding and connecting with the language. Miku opens up about how teaching Japanese and building connections through her work has become her own source of ikigai.
Feeling ikigai through meaningful connections
Nick: I think that's a great way to learn, if you can't go to the country, maybe you try and immerse yourself in a TV show or you listen to... Something I do is I'll just listen to podcasts that are in Japanese on any sort of subjects.
I listen to, actually, Ken Mogi's podcast, and he just interviews all these interesting guests. And most of the time, I sort of understand everything. So it's this great confirmation that, oh, wow, I do know a lot of words, and it's very satisfying.
So I was thinking about this. And I imagine for you teaching Japanese, both privately and on YouTube is a source of ikigai for you. So is that how you feel?
Miku: Yes, it is. I love connecting with people through doing what I'm doing. And I met so many amazing people through this project. So that's the blessing that I got. And whether it's my students that I'm teaching online, or people who are doing the same kind of thing on YouTube, and I met through Miku real Japanese, and I feel so happy when I get to connect with them.
Because if I didn't started this, I wouldn't have met them. I wouldn't have learned from them. So yeah, connection is my ikigai I'd say,
Nick: Wow, that's what I tend to say. I actually say it's like intimacy, where you connect to someone and you have this intimate moment, whether it's something like this where we're sort of having this intellectual, and I guess we're sharing ideas about language and culture, but it's this feeling of satisfaction, it's rewarding, and it's tied into relationship.
And I think, obviously, that is missed in the Western interpretation. And I would say relationships are one of the most strongest sources of ikigai people can have.
Miku: Yeah, I agree.