On Being Known

An Ikigai Story

Sue Heatherington is a friend who shares her Ikigai as a writer and a poet. She engages in what she calls ‘regenerative conversations.’

Regeneration is from Latin regenerare and means to make over, generate again. If we go back a step, rē means back to the original place.

She shared this poem the other day and it immediately brought to mind the idea of origin, of finding our true self, the one buried long ago.

When we live our Ikigai, there is a regeneration, a making over, a going back to the original place.

Sue was kind enough to let me share this insightful poem with you today.

On being known

We do not see ourselves
the way that others see us,
yet we are known.

Known since before –
before we knew, or even
asked the question: who am I?

Known not in isolation,
a number or location,
but known in connection: who we are

Indivisible, eternal and temporal,
known in being, because
to be known is to be loved

Ikigai is about experiencing your essence and purpose in harmony with whatever you do.

Sit with this and ponder what it means to be known, in the deepest sense. Reflect on how that connects with the essence of the real you.

What does this say to you about the importance of knowing yourself and being known?

🌀 I invite you to read Sue’s other work, which can be found here.