What if flourishing isn’t enough? — choice, chance, circumstance

"In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer." – Albert Camus

In my last post, “It’s a blooming crisis – in case of emergency, press flourish”, I wrote about flourishing as a public health approach — needing belonging, agency, meaning, and connection as antidotes to despair (Robshaw & Nussbaum, 2023; World Health Organization, 2025a).

What if flourishing isn’t enough? Structural inequalities and social determinants impact our capacity to flourish (Marmot, 2017; World Health Organization, 2025b).

Ocean Vuong said in a recent interview, reflecting on his stunning, poetically beautiful book "The Emperor of Gladness", "there’s much to learn from those who've been closest to wanting to die by suicide — but who, by choice, chance, or circumstance, are still here." (Vuong, 2025; Pirkis et al., 2024; Cutler, Glaeser, & Norberg, 2001).

"If you wanted to die that day, how do you live your tomorrows"?

Research wreckage

Feigning detachment, performative and being the ‘good lived experience researcher’ — analysing the results in my final PhD study wrecks me -  but steels my resilience.

I've told myself I'm unbiased, uninvolved and unaffected — Second-hand news (Fleetwood Mac humming) I’m not. it’s not. None of us are un-related, uninvolved or unaffected by life.

None, leave unscathed, none get out alive – that’s our destiny!

I see you

I know your kind: resolute. The ‘I’m still here, giving it my all (sometimes, messy as hell) but best shot at life.

I know those proclaiming surviving battle-scar free. I see you too - tidy, sorted, neatly checked! I believe you, if you say so! Either, way, you're needed here, as much as anyone.

Together, we have more than quiet whispers to share — A motley disparate crew, calling for a kinder, calmer, more loving and compassionate world.

Holding truths – It’s liminal baby!

Flourishing matters. It gives us ingredients to live well: connection, agency, safety, purpose (Robshaw & Nussbaum, 2023; World Health Organization, 2025a).

Longing for flourishing doesn’t diminish or erase pain. Some days survival is victory.

Some days are hazy – some, clear-eyed clarion calls.

Whatever, it’s enough - we're here (Hjelmeland & Knizek, 2020).

Another day worth living, you and me, - chasing an invincible summer.

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References

·       Cutler, D. M., Glaeser, E. L., & Norberg, K. E. (2001). Explaining the rise in youth suicide. NBER Working Paper Series. https://doi.org/10.3386/w7713

·       Hjelmeland, H., & Knizek, B. L. (2020). The emperor’s new clothes? A critical look at the interpersonal theory of suicide. Death Studies, 44(3), 168–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2018.1527796

·       Marmot, M. (2017). The health gap: The challenge of an unequal world: The argument. International Journal of Epidemiology, 46(4), 1312–1318. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyx163

·       Pirkis, J., Bantjes, J., Dandona, R., Knipe, D., Pitman, A., Robinson, J., Silverman, M., & Hawton, K. (2024). Addressing key risk factors for suicide at a societal level. Lancet Public Health, 9(10), e816–e824. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00158-0

·       Robshaw, B., & Nussbaum, M. (2023). Nussbaum and capabilities: Human nature, human flourishing and the ten capabilities. In Martha Nussbaum and Politics. Thinking Politics. Edinburgh University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/martha-nussbaum-and-politics/nussbaum-and-capabilities-human-nature-human-flourishing-and-the-ten-capabilities/19A7835012167C51DCB67E13AEF74233

Vuong, O. (2025). The emperor of gladness: A novel. The Penguin Press.

·       World Health Organization. (2025a). From loneliness to social connection: Charting a path to healthier societies: Report of the WHO Commission on Social Connection. https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/equity-and-health/world-report-on-social-determinants-of-health-equity

·       World Health Organization. (2025b). World report on social determinants of health equity. https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/equity-and-health/world-report-on-social-determinants-of-health-equity