
It feels like Spring here in South West France. The French word for flourishing or blossoming is épanouissement, and it’s used when referring to both plants and people. In the former case it’s about when the flowers appear. It means “opening up” just like the buds unfurl to stretch out their petals and reveal the full flower. In human beings it’s used in the field of personal development to refer to the movement towards ever greater fulfilment – to becoming the best you, you can become, the most fully developed, evolved, grown and mature expression of your unique self.
I only saw the absolute beauty of this tiny flower when I got down on my knees beside it. From human standing height it looked like this –

Looking at these two photos one after the other makes me realise the importance of the individual. The beautiful carpet of blue at the edge of the grass attracted me to walk over to it. As I stood and took a photo it looked like a floral version of the night sky. Down on my knees, as if in prayer, filled with wonder and delight, I saw the complex, utter beauty of the single flower.
As often happens, these experiences set off a train of thoughts. For example, I thought of the hundreds, no, thousands, of patients I met in my working life and how one by one they presented their utterly unique selves to me; how I never saw two people completely the same; how every one had a unique story to tell; how every single individual deserved the fullest attention, the greatest care and the most complete compassion.
And I thought about the societies we live in today, with ever increasing inequality and injustice, with a rise of xenophobia and so called populism which advocates for good things for some, and the exclusion of the other.
And I wonder, isn’t it obvious that if we want economies which flourish, then we need societies which flourish, and that’s only going to happen if we maximise the chances for the greatest number of people in society to flourish.
And I wonder, is there a good moral or rational argument to deny flourishing to anyone in any society? Isn’t the way to a better world, through a focus on the creation of the conditions which will maximise “épanouissement” for as many people as possible?
Indeed, why create the conditions for growth of only some, but not of others? Don’t we want everyone to reach their full potential as a loving, creative unique human being?