My Substack Page, at least from its title, is called “Everyday Life: Flourishing in These Times” Readers and subscribers might be puzzled by the posts on this page because the topics, you might say, tend to jump all over the place. That observation is true, but I have reasons for it, and I would like to share them with you.
What is flourishing, after all?
I write about things I love to do, see, and experience - things that make life full of joy and meaning. Whenever I am writing for this page, I always ask myself the question, "what does it mean to flourish?" The ancient Greek concept of eudaimonia, often translated as happiness, means something closer to what I mean, that is, “the good life" or human flourishing.
I am convinced that learning is not separate from living well. In fact, they go hand in hand. Flourishing is not about productivity or achievement but rather about engagement, presence, and the joy of discovery itself.
I love travel, reading, teaching, writing, maps, making the perfect cup of coffee, drinking many exotic forms of tea, road and gravel cycling, learning and studying ancient and modern "foreign" languages, fountain pens, blank notebooks, computers, computer programming, and technology, 3D printing, sourdough bread making, libraries, rare books, literary theory, philosophy, and theology. I love spending time with my wife, family, and dog. I also do nerdy things. I fool around with writing computer programs to catalogue my fountain pens.
And I am constantly learning new things, like languages that I know I will never master, from Ugaritic and Coptic to Sanskrit and from Dutch to Italian (often just before bed). In other words, I have an insatiable curiosity that drives me to understand how things work and fit together. With all these interests, what more do I need to live a meaningful, imaginative life? I am still considering how to answer this question.
The Architecture of Wonder
My curiosity is not merely an intellectual pursuit but a way of being in the world. I wish that in answering my question, what does it mean to flourish, I could find the thread through everything I do, so that I could create a model, or, I suppose, a unified philosophy of engagement with the richness of life.
My diverse interests – coffee and tea, fountain pens and 3D printing, sourdough and Substack, ancient languages and modern technology form what I'd call an "architecture of wonder." Each pursuit seems to inform the others, even if I am unaware of it: the patience required for bread-making mirrors the discipline of language learning; my 3D printing connects to the craftsmanship of rare books; the systematic thinking needed for technology parallels the analytical skills used in philosophy, theology, and literary theory.
What would it mean for me to create an architecture of wonder in which all these interests could find a home, a place where they are unified in theory and in practice? But then, I ask myself whether a model is really needed. Does there really have to be a map or something that ties them all together? After all, my interests say something about me, and I am a single human being; however many these interests are, they are still contained within me.
The interconnectedness of our interests suggests that lifelong learning is not about accumulating separate skills or independent silos in which knowledge might be stored. Instead, it is about developing what might be called "cognitive cross-pollination," if such a thing exists, where insights from cycling might inform my approach to philosophy, or where the tactile joy of blank notebooks, which only hold unfulfilled promises of what might be written in them, enhances my appreciation for digital creativity.
These moments often reveal something deeper about flourishing: it is less about acquiring knowledge for its own sake and more about recognizing hidden patterns that connect seemingly unrelated aspects of my experience. My curiosity perhaps is driven by an intuition that everything is somehow connected, and that understanding how things work and fit together is itself a way of making meaning out of diverse interests.
How do my various interests contribute to this vision of flourishing? How does the quiet ritual of morning coffee preparation create space for reflection? How does the physicality of cycling balance the intellectual work of reading philosophy and literary theory? How does sharing these experiences with my wife and family multiply and add joy to my life?
The thread connecting all my pursuits seems to be a deep appreciation for both craft and contemplation - whether I am troubleshooting a 3D printer, parsing ancient grammar, or simply being present with our dog. This suggests that, for me, flourishing means staying awake to the texture and complexity of my experiences and finding joy in the thinking and the doing.
Now It's Your Turn
But enough about my scattered interests and tentative theories. I’m curious about you.
What do you love to do, see, and experience that make your life full of joy and meaning? What about your own collection of seemingly unrelated passions and pursuits that others might see as "jumping all over the place”?
When you look at your own interests and activities, what connections do you see? How does each inform the other? Where are your moments of ignition when two different parts of your life suddenly illuminate each other? In other words, what would it mean for you to flourish?
Is it during your quiet morning ritual with coffee? The satisfaction of mastering a new skill? The joy of sharing discoveries with people you love? The simple pleasure of understanding how something works?
I suspect that the thread connecting your pursuits might reveal something profound about what it means to live well in these times. In other words, your own "architecture of wonder" might be more coherent than you think.
I would be interested to hear what flourishing looks like in your everyday life.