There are two words in Japanese that English collapses into one. Ikigai is the thing. Ikigai-kan is the feeling of having it, and Kamiya Mieko showed in 1966 that the difference is not what you have.
The English phrase is that ikigai is the reason you get up in the morning, which embarrasses most people, because they get up for an alarm. The Japanese sense is smaller, and it can be practised tonight.
The English version of ikigai asks what your purpose is. The Japanese version asks something smaller, and it can be answered tonight. One line, one question, seven nights.
