Would you say you simply survive or thrive? What does it mean to thrive?
I suspect that most people would agree that they do what they need to do to survive and reach for thriving as much as possible.
I'd like our greater cultural conversation and work to focus on what it means to thrive and work towards that. If I had to shortlist the thrive elements, I'd include the following:
- healthy, nutritious foods
- warm, welcoming shelter
- clean, safe, inspiring, nurturing natural and human-made environments
- humane, enriching common expectations related to behavior, community design, support for one another
- quality, accessible health care and education
- inspiring, enriching, accessible arts via music, visual arts, theater, film, dance, museums and more
- new focus on how communities work with greater collaboration to lift all lives up in positive ways
As fare as the personal drive to thrive, this means adopting as many positive, humane actions and efforts as possible while leaving behind the mindsets, efforts and investments that halt what is most positive for me and others.
To focus on survival alone does not build a strong community, but to focus on helping people thrive will.