Embracing an Ethic of Flourishing
We need to find a better way to live without seeing everything as a sacrifice
In Embracing Curiosity, I step away from writing about travel to comment on the bigger journey of life, exploring my faith and politics with curiosity and nuance.
It’s dominated the news cycle for days now.
Four people paid $250,000 to climb into a submarine and travel down to see the remains of the Titanic in person. As of this writing, those four people and the pilot are lost in the ocean, rescue crews working against the clock to find them in the Atlantic Ocean. These five individuals spent a lot of money on a dangerous trip to the depths of the ocean (as was their right). By the time you read this, we will probably know whether or not these individuals tragically died or were miraculously rescued due to millions of dollars spent and the efforts of hundreds of rescuers working around the clock.
Over a week ago, a boat carrying Pakastani migrants capsized along the coast of Greece. The ship was carrying as many as 750 passengers, with around 100 survivors rescued. Now Greek authorities are being criticized by the international community for not acting sooner to rescue more people, including the women and children who were most likely trapped in the hold as the ship overturned. The lives of hundreds of people seeking a better life are forever lost in the ocean.
The causes and fortunes of the lost should never matter. The loss of life is terrible, no matter the reason. Neither situation should be the cause of jokes but instead some serious contemplation.
Dear reader, if you’ve been reading my writing for long enough, you know that I usually start with the personal and then move to the big picture, but these two news stories have struck me as an important object lesson in where we are as a world right now.
We can do better.
We can live better with less so that others can have more.
In a world with finite resources, a few have far too much and too many are living with far too little.
And I realize all too well that this is easier said than done.
I’m constantly caught in the web of wanting more while trying to get rid of what we already have. I have too much stuff. I want too many things. I want to renovate our house while desiring to be less wasteful. I want to travel to all of the places while realizing the environmental cost of that travel. I want a clean house, but I struggle to make decisions about what stays and what goes.1 I want to simplify my life but am constantly looking for the next gadget that will help me do so. I want to give to those in need but struggle to find the organizations doing the best and most ethical work.
I want to be the change while also holding things too close.
And I know I’m not the only one.
When the pandemic started, I truly believed that the time we were all spending at home contemplating our lives and the state of the world would help us to be more outward focused, to see the thriving of our neighbor and our world as integral to our own thriving as human beings. We were repeatedly told that taking care of our health and protecting those around us from our potential illnesses made all of us safer. People stopped traveling and suddenly skies over large cities cleared. Millions took to the streets after the death of George Floyd in what felt like a long overdue multicultural, intergenerational reckoning on the issue of racism in America. Many of us started to see our interdependence as human beings. But the possibility of collective action quickly dissipated as people rejected masks, vaccines, meaningful action on climate change, calls for racial reconciliation, etc.
But I still believe that we can do better. I believe that we need to do better. I believe we can be transformed into a culture that focuses on thriving, not just surviving.
In her book Native, Kaitlin Curtice challenges readers to be more intentional about how they see their role in community and their relationship to the natural world. She talks about the danger of consumerism and the belief that the world is ours for the taking. Our survival as a species is dependent on the survival and thriving of everything around us. Regardless of your beliefs in creationism, intelligent design, or evolution, the plants and animals were here before us. We need clean water and air and healthy plants and animals to continue our own thriving as humans. And thriving does not mean having everything and storing up more than you’ll ever need or use for later. Thriving relates to our whole body, mind, and spirit, something that is only truly possible in a community of others who are also living full lives in body, mind, and spirit.
There is no one way to work toward a culture of flourishing, but there is no excuse for not trying something new. And sometimes the best place to start is with yourself.
When we went camping as a family in Pokagon State Park for Memorial Day, I went on three separate hikes by myself. Each time, I didn’t listen to music or podcasts or an audiobook. I listened to the sounds of nature. I enjoyed the time alone. I took pictures but I also embraced just being in the woods and on the trail.
I found the same desire when we recently went to Michigan for a weekend. All I wanted to do was be. Walking along the shoreline and sitting in the sand while I watched my teenager dig down to water was all that I needed to be happy. The only thing we bought while at the beach was local strawberries at the farmer’s market. We walked in and out of shops that didn’t need our money and decided to support local farmers who did.
But it is not enough to focus on our personal thriving. Consider how your buying practices are contributing to climate change or local poverty. Donate to organizations that are helping people in various situations get back onto their feet. Volunteer for an organization that is giving people second chances. Look around your house and consider ways you could live better with less waste. Pick one change for flourishing at a time and build to a new change. We don’t have to do it all, and we don’t have to do it all at once. But I believe we can do it.
And that brings me back to the news stories that I mentioned at the beginning. The loss of life is terrible, but so are the circumstances that led to those losses. In a world where we really do have more than enough for everyone, we shouldn’t see hundreds of people dying in an effort to escape extreme hardship. In a world where there are people dying in an effort to escape extreme hardship, we should be able to ask why there are people for whom $250,000 seems like a reasonable amount of money for what is supposed to be a day-long adventure. And we should question the amount of airtime the latter is getting as opposed to the former.
I have far more questions than answers, but I do know that I can do better. I know that we can do better. I know that we all need to do better if we are going to create the societies we want our children to inherit. And it’s something I’ll never finish exploring.
Some resources if you want to focus on flourishing
The Substack newsletter Urbanism Speakeasy with Andy Boenau does an excellent job highlighting ways in which we can have better cities that are healthier for all and more ecofriendly. Footnotes by Jemar Tisby is doing important work in understanding our history and highlighting how we can work towards racial reconciliation. Jessica Hetherington is doing important work on her Substack as she encourages fellow Christians to better understand our role in taking care of the planet.
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I’ve written a memoir collection of essays based on several of my blog posts from the past seven years. A couple of the above essays can be found in this very book. It is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
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There are very few consistent fights that my husband and I have had over the years, but the most consistent has probably been my inability to get rid of paper. So. Much. Paper.
Well said!!
Thank you for sharing about my book! Grateful for the journey you're taking.