Flourishing (2)

Inside us there’s a battle between our flourishing self – who we were created to be – and our languishing self.  Our languishing self feels uneasy and discontent. It’s drawn to bad habits like mindlessly watching TV, drinking too much, misusing people and relationships, excessive spending, aimlessly scrolling through social media – these things temporarily anaesthetise pain. Our thoughts automatically drift in the direction of fear and anger. Learning doesn’t feel worthwhile. We think about ourselves most of the time. But flourishing (or in other words, thriving, blossoming, and prospering) takes place in these places: 1) In our spirit. We sense that we’re beginning to receive ideas and energy from an outside source. And it’s true – we are. We’re being empowered by God’s Spirit. We talk about being inspired, which literally means ‘God breathed’. God breathes into us, and we come alive and feel like we have a purpose for living. 2) In our mind. Our thoughts become marked by joy and peace. We have a desire to love and to learn. We’re literally being transformed by ‘the renewing of your mind’ (Romans 12:2 NIV). 3) In our time. We’ll wake each day with a sense of excitement. We’ll realise we’re never too young to flourish. Mozart was composing brilliant music when he was five. Paul told Timothy, ‘Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young’ (1 Timothy 4:12 NIV). We’ll also realise we’re never too old to flourish. Grandma Moses was sixty-nine when she took up painting, and artist Marc Chagall did some of his best work in his nineties. It’s humbling to acknowledge we can’t be anything we want. But as soon as we accept that and choose to embrace what God created us to be, we can start flourishing.