ikigai

Ikigai (pronounced ick-ee-guy) is a Japanese concept that means ‘a reason for being’. It’s what you’re here on Earth for; the source of value in your life and the reason you get up in the morning. More explicitly, it’s the convergence of four primary elements in your life – your passion, vocation, mission, and profession.

Here at In Praise of Shadows, our Ikigai is wine. But it’s more than that. It’s wine with heart and without ego; with warmth and without hierarchy; with encouragement, kindness, and acceptance of what is and what will be. We know nature is the provider and we are just the caretaker of the journey from earth to glass. Our role is just to make sure that what ends up in your glass is delicious!

Wabi sabi

Around 700 years ago, particularly among the Japanese nobility, understanding emptiness and imperfection was honored as tantamount to the first step to satori, or enlightenment. In today’s Japan the meaning of wabi-sabi is often condensed to “wisdom in natural simplicity”.

Wabi sabi is an intuitive response to beauty that reflects the true nature of life.

Wabi sabi is an acceptance and appreciation of the impermanent, imperfect and incomplete nature of everything.

Wabi sabi is a recognition of the gifts of simple, slow and natural living.

If you put your ear to society, you will hear the rumblings of a slow revolution, a yearning for a simpler, more meaningful life.

A life infused with beauty, connected to nature, thrumming with the energy of everyday wellbeing and built around what really matters to us.

Living a more authentic and inspired life!