We can think of a flourishing life as an ever changing bouquet of flowers, with each stem representing a different type of connection — to 1) body and self, 2) friends, family and community, 3) culture, 4) land & ground, 5) the sacred, and 6) the human project - a sense of purpose, agency, possibility.
You might ask yourself …
1) What flowers are in your bouquet right now? Which of the six stems are present?
2) For each flower in your bouquet, what are some moments where you’ve seen that type of connection spring up? Write a few specific moments in the petals.
3) Now think about the conditions that gave rise to each moment. What knowledge & skills (i.e capabilities) did you need? What motivations & desires? What in your environment (i.e opportunities or relationships) helped your flower grow?
Here’s a worksheet you might use, with an example of where I’ve felt especially connected to my body and what some of the conditions were for that moment to come to be.
You can download a copy of the worksheet to print here!
Because this is a new metaphor we’re testing out, we’d love to hear how it does or doesn’t work for you and others. You could try using this at home, a staff meeting, or with the folks you support. What are all the different version of a flourishing bouquet?