How Do We Flourish?
The other day I felt bummed out. It was one of those days where I woke up feeling unmotivated, and the feeling stuck with me. I couldn’t understand where it had come from, I just knew that I felt a bit depressed. As then, as sometimes happens, I felt depressed about feeling depressed. I felt impatient with myself.
Finally, I got out my journal. When I have thoughts and emotions churning, journaling is often the way for me to identify and chronicle what’s going on and acknowledge how I’m feeling. Just getting it on paper was enough to start moving me from “head spinning” to a calmer state. And in the process of writing, insights began to arise. The impatient thought, “Why in the world am I feeling so down today for no reason!?” was replaced with a realization of the bigger picture—events in the world and in my life that are having an impact on me. With that larger perspective, I found myself more able to respond to myself with self-compassion and self-care.
After I was finished journaling, it was time for breakfast, and then on to our weekly Flourish and Bloom Collective call. Because it was the last Thursday of the month, we weren’t meeting on video via Zoom. Instead, each member of the group went to an outdoor space nearby, and we met via an audio call. I led us in a Mindful Outdoor Experience— stretching, breathing, activating our senses, walking mindfully, and sitting quietly outdoors.
Friends, it’s impossible to describe how this experience nourished me. We were there as a group (connected by the phone and by our presence, even though we were in different places), we slowed down our pace, we tuned in to the rooted strength of the trees, the bright calls of the birds, the generativity of green growing things.
During the sit spot meditation near the end of the session, I sat quietly and noticed that I didn’t feel down. I felt tender and thoughtful. And I felt held and seen in connection with the group on the other end of the phone, in connection with the natural world, and in connection with myself.
For me, this is part of what FLOURISHING means. It isn’t the absence of pain or trouble, but instead it’s how we work with what’s challenging to know and care for ourselves more fully.
Journaling, being mindful outdoors, and connecting with a warm, engaged community are some of the practices that nourish me and help me to flourish. I’m grateful that I know and act on this… even if sometimes it takes me a little while to remember.
What about you? Do you know what helps you to flourish? 🌼
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