Ikigai is the Japanese word for a “motivating force.” It expresses the sense of purpose or reason for living. More generally it refers to something or someone that boosts our energy and gratitude for being alive.

Going to the playground with Olivia and her friend Jonathan was one such morning. After our breakfast at The Golden Apple Diner we moseyed on over to Margaret Donohue Park. When Jonathan saw me take out my iPhone, he immediately instructed me, “You don’t need your phone. I know how to get there.” Off we went.

On a side street, Jonthan picked up a sizeable branch that had fallen during the previous evening’s storm. He held it aloft and proclaimed, “I AM MOSES!” Olivia, not to be outdone, took hold of it and turned it into a divining rod. They tussled over whose turn it was next and settled for carrying it together all the way to the park.

When we arrived, Olivia and Jonathan headed for the water sprinklers, getting soaked in a matter of seconds.  Midmorning, the park was alive with kids. Kids in diapers, kids in shorts. Shouting kids and not-yet-talking kids. Running kids and toddling-and-falling kids. Kids in their nannies’ arms and kids well out of Nanny’s reach. Before me was a true fountain of youth. I couldn’t stop smiling, so great was my delight in their delight. Each child was radically alive yet possessing no intellectual grasp of what being alive meant. Curly hair , no hair, chubby thighs and arms. Toothless grins, new bottom teeth, and adult-sized teeth just coming in. Each little being was unique, darling, pure energy bounding from one piece of equipment to another with the attention span of a swarm of gnats. Bathed in ikigai, I was indeed grateful to be alive.