FLOURISH: definition: To grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment; to thrive.  

What does flourishing look like to you?  

This past summer, I observed it in a garden just down the street in Cape May. I also saw it in my daughter, the garden’s creator.  

When something or someone flourishes, that energy ripples out, nourishing the life around it. Flourishing is both an inside job and an outside job. 

In mid-June, my daughter, Sarah, and I co-led a retreat day called “Blooming into Summer” through Well for the Journey, during which we welcomed summer by setting intentions for the season. We enjoyed time to reflect, walk in nature to observe life in bloom, engage in meaningful conversations, and balance our energy with yoga.  As a hands-on activity, we created wildflower seed balls by embedding the seeds in balls of dirt and clay.   Sarah shared some benefits of gardening while we were digging our hands in the dirt: gardening reduces stress, enhances the immune system, promotes healthy aging, boosts nutrition, and encourages community.  Everyone took their wildflower seed balls to plant or give away. The Spirit has a sense of humor. We didn’t know how much blooming was going to happen.  

Six weeks later, Sarah’s seedball flowers were flourishing!  

The flowers bloomed among the lush garden that Sarah created on a formerly vacant lot in Cape May, New Jersey. The owners of the lot agreed to let her plant a garden on it. Located adjacent to the summer home previously owned by her grandparents, I sense that they and other ancestors who have passed to the other side of the veil are guardian angels for the garden.  

Situated two blocks from the beach on a well-traveled road, the garden got lots of attention. Friends, neighbors, and strangers frequently visited while Sarah worked in the garden. They asked questions, gave advice, helped weed (sometimes), and simply lingered around the flourishing. Some days, she spent half of her time in the garden talking to people who stopped by. Community connection is part of what she envisioned when she planted the garden.

The garden surpassed expectations; it almost seemed magical. Its abundance included arugula, kale, squash, zucchini, broccoli, fingerling potatoes, onions, yellow corn, herbs, cucumbers (galore!), and amazing varieties of tomatoes. Friends, neighbors, strangers, and the local food bank have been gifted with colorful, delicious vegetables.  

When the tiny watermelons appeared, they prompted her delight: “Aren’t they so cute?!”  

Most of us know what it looks like for a garden to flourish, but what does it look like for a person to flourish?    

In his best-selling book, Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being, psychologist Martin Seligman identifies several factors that contribute to flourishing and well-being that he dubbed “PERMA”:  

Positive emotions—Strengthen positive emotions such as gratitude, appreciation, forgiveness, mindfulness, joy, and hope.  

Engagement – Engaging with those things that help you be in “flow,” in the present moment, or so absorbed in something you lose track of time. Dr. Seligman describes it as “at one with the music.” 

Relationships- Having relationships that bring joy, support, meaning, laughter, connection, and a feeling of belonging.  

Meaning– A sense of meaning or purpose that gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning to serve something bigger than oneself.  

Accomplishment- Setting achievable goals and pursuing competence and mastery. 

When someone is flourishing, it radiates outward. Friends and family in Cape May repeatedly commented on how happy Sarah seemed. Indeed, she flourished. I will never forget her standing in the garden in her sky-blue canvas overalls, sweaty and beaming with joy.  

Next time you observe some part of nature flourishing, pause to behold that abundance. What can nature teach you? Perhaps you can reflect on what is helping you flourish…or keeping you from doing so.  Key factors outlined in “PERMA” provide insight and guidance for all of us.  

May you flourish, friends.  

Much love,

Mabeth