The Ecology of Belonging

This domain explores how well people and places live in balance with the ecosystems that support life. It includes care for land, water, air, biodiversity, and local habitats, as well as fostering awareness of interdependence and regeneration.

This domain looks at whether economic activity strengthens community wellbeing, reduces waste, and supports long-term resilience. It includes local livelihoods, resource circularity, sustainable industries, and economic designs that prioritise the common good. Flourishing economies give back more than they take

This domain focuses on the stories, values, traditions, languages, and shared meanings that help people belong. It includes social trust, diversity, heritage, ethical life, and the ways communities make sense of the world together. Flourishing cultures nurture connection, dignity, and a shared moral horizon.

This domain centres on human development across the lifespan—physical, emotional, cognitive, relational, and spiritual. It examines how people are supported to grow, express themselves, participate, and thrive. This includes the seven motivational levels that shape wellbeing from early childhood onward.

The sphere of self refers to inner awareness, identity, and personal lived experience. It includes emotions, values, motivations, and the growing capacity for agency and meaning-making across the lifespan. Flourishing at the level of self involves coherence between one’s needs, purpose, and actions, supported by environments that nurture wellbeing and expression.

The sphere of others reflects the relationships, communities, and cultural contexts through which people develop belonging, trust, and shared meaning. This includes family, peers, community groups, and broader cultural narratives. Flourishing with others involves reciprocity, empathy, social cohesion, and participation in collective life.

The sphere of nature refers to all ecological systems that sustain life—from local habitats to planetary ecosystems. It embodies the principles of interdependence, diversity, reciprocity, and regeneration. Flourishing with nature means recognising humans as part of, not separate from, living systems, and acting in ways that restore ecological balance.

The sphere of cosmos reflects the wider field of meaning and existence: the spiritual, ethical, symbolic, and cosmological dimensions through which people make sense of their place in the universe. It includes worldviews, metaphysics, ritual, awe, and the felt sense of connection with something larger than the self. Flourishing in relation to the cosmos involves purpose, humility, reverence, and an expanded consciousness of interbeing.