"human flourishing": or enjoying life, appreciating the little things, and being together

This week I read an interesting article by Karen Swallow Prior; I've mentioned her memoir Booked:  Literature in the Soul of Me a couple of times on this blog already (see here and here).  Her article, "How Reading Makes Us More Human," emphasizes that reading is more than just an intellectual activity:  "there is something profoundly spiritual -- however one understands that word -- about the human ability, and impulse, to read." 

Then, in an interview on Amy Julia Becker's "Thin Places" blog, Swallow Prior expands on this relationship between reading and being human.  She emphasizes that she isn't suggesting that the ability to read is a requirement for full humanness (after all, millions of people around the world cannot read), but that it is one means of enhancing our humanity.

The part of her interview I appreciated the most was this statement:  "As one reader of my article commented, the distinction is between human dignity and human flourishing. Reading is one means of human flourishing; imago dei [the image of God] is the source of human worth and dignity." 

I found this distinction helpful and reassuring, because I know that Jonathan will probably never experience reading in the way that Swallow Prior is talking about (or in the way Allison, who was reading Beatrix Potter at age 3-1/2 and is now an avid reader and writer, can) -- yet he can still flourish and have a full life on his own terms.

As I thought more about this concept of human flourishing, I realized just how many different aspects of our lives contribute to it.  So I thought I'd provide this little photo essay of some of our recent extended family get-togethers, to show some examples of what this human flourishing can look like in practice.

Megan and Jonathan:  cousins, age 11 and 10, reading Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever.

Cousins enjoying some basketball.  Someone appears
to have an unfair height advantage ... but they won't let that spoil their fun.

Jonathan (10), Levi (12), Josh (23)

Carolyn and I singing worship songs together in harmony:

a little taste of heaven on earth.

Celebrating a cousin's Grade 8 graduation -- a special milestone!

 (Cara and Allison)

 Grandma's (Audrey's) birthday -- another milestone.  

(And the obligatory ice-cream cake makes any occasion more special!)

Corey, Jonathan, and Doug, just ... laughing together.  

What's so funny?  

I don't know -- but does it really matter?

*****

Finally, brothers [and sisters, and cousins, and aunts, and uncles, and grandparents...], 

whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, 

whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4:8