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Home  | Human Flourishing  | Emotional Fitness  | Flourish
BY: T. Franklin Murphy | December 2017 (edited June 10, 2022)
Two hands holding an image of the world with a tree growing from it. A Flourishing Life Society article on flourishing
Adobe Stock Images
We flourish when our environment accommodates growth. We can transcend our current situations by improving our environment.
Living organisms have a knack for survival. We absorb the punches and continue. Survival is our badge of courage, displaying perseverance and remarkable resiliency. Environments can be harsh and unforgiving—but we adapt and survive. The applause sounds loud for the miracle of life. All life isn’t the same; some struggle for a single bloom while others constantly explode in color—they flourish.

​We should proudly display the beauty whether we display the purity of a single morning glory or the heavily weighted branches of a gaudy rose bush. Our blooms share our liveliness and blessings. The flourishing life isn’t expressed through accumulating successes but from our relationship with life.
"'Who do you think you are?' That's the big one, isn't it? A flourishing life depends on how you answer that."
​Robert Fulghum

We influence our environment but don’t control it. The surrounding unknown circumstances impact our growth in many positive and negative ways. We hamper our openness to experience if we under value the complexity of the encircling world and the unpredictableness of complex system contributing to life.

​We are challenged to exploit what we know and explore the depths of what we don’t, curiously gaining deeper appreciation for the living process of birth, growth, decline and death. Even the abundantly decorated rose eventually droops, dropping its beautiful petals to the rich soil beneath.  

Key Definition:

Flourishing is thriving, fulfilling our potential in grand fashion. 

Flourishing Follows Natural Laws

​Flourishing happens within the natural boundaries of existence, extracting nutrients and resources from the surrounding environment and translating them into internal growth. Environments also contain toxins. Our relationships, employments, economies and governments provide a mixture of blessings and curses, sustenance and poison; not evenly divided or fairly distributed. This is the world we live in and the conditions of our independent and collective battles. These are the natural laws that we must respect in our quest to flourish.

"Natural laws (order) govern the functions of the universe. The laws apply to life in the universe. Laws create predictability. Acting within the laws grants an associated blessing. Unfortunately, living isn’t always predictable even though life is governed by laws" (Murphy, 2017).

The stubborn Morning Glory, fighting terrible odds for existence, represents our human quest for flourishing more than the most dazzling rose. We can't judge our success against the successes or failures of others. What we receive, and what hinders varies dramatically from individual to individual.
"No work or love will flourish out of guilt, fear, or hollowness of heart, just as no valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now."
​Alan Watts
​​I stand in awe when a child of meager emotional and material support, breaks through barriers and blooms. This is the grandest achievement of humanity. In their success, I find hope.

We don’t feign health if health doesn’t exist but we also shouldn’t shamefully bow our heads when our mere survival is a magnificent accomplishment of human flourishing. So, we move forward, carefully approaching and wisely withdrawing, engaging life on its terms but responding on our terms, developing a resilient and skilled self to balance difficulty with pleasure, and knowledge with ignorance. We flourish.
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T. Franklin Murphy
T. Franklin Murphy
Wellness. Writer. Researcher.
​T. Franklin Murphy has a degree in psychology. He tirelessly researches scientific findings that contribute to wellness. In 2010, he began publishing his findings.

References:

Murphy, T. Franklin (2017) Natural Laws of Life. Flourishing Life Society. Published 2-2017. Accessed 6-10-2022.

Index:

Flourishing in Life
  • Personal Development
  • Mindfulness
  • Addiction Recovery
  • Wellness 
Psychology of Wellness
  • Emotions​
  • Personality
  • Defense Mechanisms
Flourishing Relationships
  • Intimate
  • Parent/Child
  • Society
Health and Fitness
Key Word Archives
Research
About Flourishing Life
Human Flourishing. What is a Flourishing Life? A Flourishing Life Society Link
Link: Our capitalistic society drives a digging sense that we are not sufficient; we need more. We can grow without the gnawing pain of being incomplete. We fight this with gratitude.
Wellness Links:
External Link: 5 Things You Can Do to Boost Your Brain's Health
External Link: Five Daily Habits To Unleash Your Creativity In 2020
External Link: The Pareto Principle and How to Be More Effective
External Link:  The Dangerous Approach of Living Without Purpose
Outside link: The Art of Self-Nurturing: Giving Yourself Permission
Link: How Humility will make you the greatest person ever

​Other Flourishing Life Society articles of interest on this topic:

We don't spontaneously grow. We need the necessary ingredients. Our souls need to be fed and protected.
Flourishing Life Society link. Self Respect
FLS Link. The Experience Machine: In 1974, Robert Nozick posed a question. Would you plug into an experience machine that provided all the feelings of desired experience without the struggles of reality?
There is a lot of hype on what we should and shouldn't do to be well. The mind and experience are complex. However, our lives improve immensely when we concentrate on a few of the basics.
Waiting for Better. The Marshmallow Study. A Flourishing Life Society article link
Uncertainty Avoidance. A Flourishing Life Society article link
Picture
A Flourishing Life Society link. Entitlement to Ease
Emotion article database
Internal Link. Life Is What It Is.
Flourishing Life Society Article Link. Cycle of Personal Growth.
A wave of pop psychology, suggesting happiness is paramount,often neglects the importance of others. We can improve the feeling states. But science is clear, rich and fulfilling lives include healthy connections with others.
FLS internal link. Courage to Become: We need to courage to reach past comfort zones and encourage personal growth.
Stressed Out. A Flourishing Life Society article link
Internal Link: Pursuit of Happiness | If the sole purpose of our existence is to increase pleasure, we will never be satisfied. Living a full and rich life experiences many emotions. Happiness is a balance of healthy thoughts and growth promoting actions.
Faulty Symbols of Success. A Flourishing Life Society article link

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Mindfulness article archive link
health and Fitness article archive link
Psychology article archive link
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Abuse article archive link
Environments dictate the success and failure of life. We flourish when environments are accommodating. But humans can transcend this, achieving more than the world would otherwise dictate.
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