• I'm cookin' with a knife and cutting board now. Starting to look more like a cook, than a goof.

Left my little book at work...

and it isn't easy to avoid despair. I want to complain about the trivial nature of leaving things behind and the comments from my superior about not reading in the presence of customers to the store. To let these little things sap my joy, however, would be the antithesis of the book, the little book of ikigai.

In fact, thanks to the power of the Internet, I can still comment on some of the concepts I found insightful.

What does it mean?

As language doesn't have direct translations for certain concepts and nuance, ikigai refers to one's "reason for waking up in the morning".

I am not the book's author, Ken Mogi, so I defer the opportunity to wax any further. I think the book delves into the presence of mind we sometimes forget in the cacophony of outside noise: work, family and friends. Not just social aspects, but the news, politics, crime and even certain content like music or shows can jade us, with the constant offering of narratives.

The idea can also refer to "pleasures and the meaning of life", which I resonate which.

My favorite rapper has lyricized before, when he started, all he wanted was a car.

In another way, I embrace small starts. When I first began blogging, all I wanted was a cheeseburger.

^{If lobster isn't within the budget, I recommend imitation crab. It's not faking it when you make it.}

Start small, start atomic, in fact

As I continue to read various tomes of knowledge for a better read on my life, I appreciate how the concepts coincide.

Some of the language and concepts bear resemblance to James Clear's Atomic Habits. If you are a reader of my posts in recent months, you understand I find the book to be quite useful in habit formation and deformation, but provoking as it concerns processes and goals.

To cook, I only need to use the tools, do the work. Each time I cook anything, I am a cook.

Each time, I write, I cast a vote for the identity I wish to represent me. I am a writer.

Photograph and be a photographer.

I realize, I hadn't appreciated what it means to 'start at the beginning' or 'take small steps'. Yet, small steps are what led to these two meals I enjoyed but a nite ago.

My very own crab Cobb salad and pork belly with spicy pork ramen. On another note, I realize pork might take a bit longer to cook thoroughly, til it's tender.

What steps did you take today?