Flourishing

From surviving to thriving.

I read an article on the field of Positive Psychology this week and in a paragraph I found the word, “happiology”. What a delightful word (haha).

The foundation of Positive Psychology is the understanding that positive mental health is not just the absence of mental illness. It’s the foundation of my wiring and my writing, this concept. Life isn’t about merely staying upright. It’s about thriving.

Martin Seligman, one of the founding fathers of the field of Positive Psychology, tells us that it is all too commonplace to be in a so-called state of satisfactory health, and yet stuck languishing in life.

He says,

“Positive mental health is a presence: the presence of positive emotion, the presence of engagement, the presence of meaning, the presence of good relationships, and the presence of accomplishment.”

Being in a state of mental health is not merely being disorder free; it is the presence of flourishing.

Flourishing is universal.

Flourishing isn’t a concept for a select few. It’s not about privilege. It’s within the reach of all of us. Settling for anything less is a waste of a damn good life.

I never say “We only have one life…” or “Life is short” or anything similar because I believe we reincarnate and take our life lessons with us. But this particular life, yes, it is precious and to spend it languishing in stuckness isn’t the point.

A memory.

As a child I had an obsession with quick sand. It seemed every old campy western movie I watched had somebody falling into it. There were also images of it in old Tarzan movies, and every dinosaur movie featured the La Brea Tar Pits with some poor Mastadon wandering in and slowly sinking.

Horrifying!

And once as a kid I actually stepped into a big dense mud patch and it sucked my shoe off when I stepped out. I screamed like I was face to face with a monster trying to eat me! My older brother came to my rescue, throwing me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, laughing so hard he could hardly breathe.

But looking back, it seems all so symbolic.

Flourishing is the blueprint.

The fear was about stuckness! I was born with an aversion to it. I devote my life to assisting people out of their quicksand. Sometimes all it takes is somebody tossing you a little branch, and out you come, able to move those legs again.

I wish for you vitality. I wish for you flourishing.

I wish for no more quicksand.

Much Love,

Kristy