Marlow's Musings 5/18/25
Insights, adventures and fun stuff from this week.
Audio narration by David Marlow
Today marks the 1,000th article on Ikiquest. It happens completely by accident to fall on a Musing Day, which feels strangely fitting.
Three years ago, I was looking for a creative outlet to share ideas and inspiration around Ikigai. Deep in my heart, I had always wanted to be a writer, and one day the simple truth hit me—if I wanted to be a writer, I should probably be writing.
I wrote a short reflection about living with purpose. Then another the next day. Then another. With no explicit plan, goal, or expectation, I wrote with an open mind and heart as to where it might lead.
Just words on a page that felt worth sharing.
Some days, the words flowed easily. Other mornings, I stared at a blank screen, eventually crafting something from whatever fragments of thought happened to be floating through my mind.
One article became ten. Ten became a hundred. Each one pieced together from the materials at hand—a conversation overheard at a coffee shop, a question from a reader, a memory that surfaced unexpectedly.
Somewhere along the way, something shifted. What began as simple daily encouragement grew into a newsletter read by over 4,000 people. Those early musings have now been viewed more than a million times. Eventually, they led to being asked by a publisher to write a book. Which became “The Ikigai Way”—the book I'd always imagined writing someday.
I never planned for any of this. Certainly never sat down and thought, “I’m going to write a thousand articles and get a publishing deal.” I just kept showing up on the page.
The French have a word—bricolage—for creating something meaningful with whatever materials happen to be at hand. Not waiting for perfect conditions or ideal resources, but beginning with what's available right now.
Looking at these articles I see a thousand moments of bricolage. A thousand mornings of crafting something from whatever thoughts, experiences, and observations were present that day.
I wonder what might be waiting in your heart—some interest or talent giving you a gentle nudge. What might happen if you simply began with whatever materials you have at hand today?
After all, you never know where a single step might lead.
Word of the Week
Bricolage (n.)
/ˌbriːkəˈlɑːʒ/
1: Creation from a diverse range of available things
2: Construction or creation achieved by using whatever comes to hand
From French bricoler, meaning “to tinker” or “to fiddle with,” this evocative word describes the art of creating something new from a collection of disparate items. It represents the maker's ability to improvise with materials not specifically designed for the task at hand, finding possibilities where others might see only limitations.
Bricolage embraces opportunistic creativity, the willingness to work with what's available rather than waiting for ideal conditions. It manifests in the artist who transforms discarded objects into a compelling installation, the entrepreneur who launches with minimal resources, or the teacher who crafts an effective lesson from unexpected classroom moments.
In case you missed it…
This week’s Ikigai Thoughts for Today…
The first…Infinite Ignorance
From the time we start school, the world gets divided into right answers and wrong answers. Tests and grades gave us the idea that we could know all the correct answers.
The world of work strengthens this idea that we can and should have all the answers. Instead, I’ll invite you to consider something else, let’s call it infinite ignorance.
The second…Three Things
Whether we are focusing on the past, disappointments, failures, hurt, or worrying about the future, we aren’t being present, living, and focusing on this moment.
I explore a thought from C.S. Lewis that provides some clues as to how to be more present; it is also one of the most healing and redemptive statements I've ever read…
Ikiquest+
This week’s Coffee Contemplation…Chisoku
Too often, we are encouraged to think either in terms of 'more' or 'less' when we should instead ponder 'enough.'
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Interesting Thing…
So many of you enjoyed the live camera view of the watering hole in the Namib Desert, I thought I’d share another opportunity to enjoy the natural world.
This is a playlist entitled Amphibian Love Songs and Soundscapes, which is exactly what you think…frogs singing.
Comment of the Week:
I’m sharing this thought from Mark on an observation I made on the Chapter X Podcast…
“Fantastic stuff here, David. I caught this in your post copy and it's REALLY speaking to me, "quiet the noise of expectation." The noise of expectation is the modern world's prison cell. Fortunately, the cell door isn't really locked.
P.S. I've been slowly working through your masterpiece (The Ikigai Way) for a 2nd round -- this time just 5 minutes (or so) at a time before I drift off. It's a different experience than the first go-round.”
I love that Mark's enjoying the book a second time and getting new things out of it. Reading it a little slower, and just before he fnishes his day.
On the podcast, Michael and I explore:
What Ikigai means (and what it doesn’t)
How to quiet the noise enough to hear what’s true for you
Why a beginner’s mindset is key to moving forward
What it looks like to create your own “Ikiverse”
How old memories and stories can point you back to what matters most
Quote I’m Pondering
This thought is from Nassim Nicholas Taleb1…
“Success is becoming in middle adulthood what you dreamed to be in late childhood.”
Taleb's perspective on authentic success is portrayed here as fulfillment of childhood dreams in adulthood rather than pursuing externally defined measures of achievement.
Final Thoughts:
Looking back over my life, the best things have come from either taking a bold move to be true to my essence by using my gifts or, embracing completely unplanned moments of serendipity and opportunity.
Quest well!
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (New York: Random House, 2010)
Happy anniversary David! How wild that I've decided to write a day-book/journal (that has been writing itself) since I devoted myself to my yoga journey on 10/24/21.
The vision is to cultivate a "garden" where folks are invited to write their thoughts in response to a daily musing.
The larger vision is cultivating a digital community centered around the book with no barriers to entry other than adhering to the community guidelines & where folks are invited to "publish & proclaim" the dreams in their hearts while shedding...not that.
Ideally, there will be a Council of Inner Children actively embodying the dreams in their hearts & tending to the garden in some way.
Do you know of any epically eco-friendly & ethical publishers well-versed in projects of this magnitude?
How did your publisher find you & at what cost?
Dave!
Writing, your passion, what comes to your mind
Inside, our Ikigai, with purpose we find
Deep in your heart, your words are caring
Just words on a page you felt worth sharing
Bold and gold - thank you!
Peter