Thimakka’s unassuming appearance belies the numerous accolades that she has received. An illiterate woman from a remote village in Karnataka, she is credited with planting almost 8,000 saplings in the state. Today, a 5km stretch from Kudur to Hulikal is lined with majestic Banyan trees, thanks to her efforts. Unable to bear children, Thimakka found fulfillment in planting and nurturing trees.
Mansukhbhai Prajapati, a Kutch potter who specialized in making water pots, suffered massive losses during the Bhuj earthquake in 2001. With media headlines highlighting that the poor man’s water cooler was destroyed because of the earthquake, Mansukhbhai was spurred to make a more robust version of his humble water pot. His efforts resulted in ‘Mitticool’, an ingenuous low-cost clay refrigerator that has been a boon for the rural masses.
Arunima Sinha, a volleyball player, was pushed off a moving train by thieves. Despite her amputated leg, she resolved to climb Mount Everest. Her remarkable efforts earned her a place in history – she was the first female amputee from India to climb Mount Everest.
These are just a few of the countless inspirational stories we hear – stories of indefatigable resolve and dogged effort that have enabled individuals to fulfil their dreams.
It makes you wonder:
• What prompts people to answer the call in their hearts?
• How do they find the courage to galvanize that call into action?
A deep sense of angst and misery propelled Thimakka, Mansukhbhai and Arunima to change the course of their lives. Does pain always have to be the key trigger for manifesting your calling? The answer is not a resounding yes. Sources of inspiration can be positive too, and can be sought from the world around you. The magnificence of nature, the innocence of children, thought-provoking art and design, soulful relationships and much more, can ignite your mind and heart. What you need is a proactive mindset in finding your attunement, or what feels right to you.
Oprah Winfrey describes her search quite passionately, “The Universe believes in alignment and has a plan for you. When you feel the energy getting sucked out of you, it means you need to keep looking. It may take time but you will find it. Sometimes being in the wrong job or relationship is a step towards finding the right one.” She says her daily prayer to the Universe is: “What would you have me do, please make it happen through me.” Finding fulfillment can have a compounding effect, as it touches the lives of other people around you too. Needless to say, this ripple effect magnifies your sense of gratification manifold. What you do and the choices you make are clearly associated with activity in different parts of the brain. After extensive research, neuroscientist Richard Davidson propounds that the left hemisphere of the brain lights up even at the mere thought of achieving a meaningful goal. Left prefrontal activity is associated with a grand goal, the kind that gives life meaning. By contrast, Davidson says, right prefrontal activation acts as a “behavioral inhibitor”, which means people give up more easily when things get tough.
So the path to a purposeful life has to do with increasing the activity in the left hemisphere enough to minimize the dampening effect of the right hemisphere. According to Canadian scientist Donald Hebb, “Neurons that fire together, wire together”, i.e. with sustained practice and effort, the brain can be tricked into cultivating positive states of mind and creative thought.
This research suggests that human beings can proactively design the path to their calling rather than leave it to happen by default. In other words, you don’t have to be stuck in a web of victimization and misery; there is a way out if you have the vision, courage and resilience. Meditative practices, gratitude, humility and positive thinking have all been linked to the development of the prefrontal cortex.
If Newton’s third law of physics were to be applied, then the deeper you go into the crevices of your mind, the greater is the ability to act on what you feel so strongly about. In fact, if you consciously peel away your layers of fear, hesitation and misplaced notions, you will find courage and conviction.
When you embark on the journey of finding what inspires you, forces of nature magically begin to work in tandem. Arunima Sinha found the legendary mountaineer, Bachendri Pal, to mentor her. Mansukhbhai’s innovation received a civil engineer’s patronage. He saw the application of this clay refrigerator and immediately placed an order of 100 pieces with an advance of Rs. 2 lakh. Thimakka’s work inspired residents to collect funds to support her campaign. An environmental agency in the United States named their centre after Thimakka while, in India, she has been honored with the National Citizens’ award. Synchronicity or coincidences in your environment only facilitate the fructification of your calling. Your task is to be alive to these subtle moments of grace. When incidents start to dance in unison, you know that you are on the right track.
The Japanese believe in ikigai, which means a reason for being, or finding a reason to wake up every morning. So what are you waiting for? Wake up to your ikigai.
For those of you who have found your purpose or reason for living already, our compliments. We hope you can ignite the spark in others too!
By Aparna Mathur
Transformational Resonance 
Courage, Conviction and Creativity… the 3 most important ingredients that go into actualizing an idea into reality, The energy of these 3 and being aware and aligned with your Ikigai reainforce each other!