Week 1 of 7
Natural Cycles
For those of us in four-season climates, observing the natural cycle of life is part of our daily routine. The way the air heats, cools, dampens or dries throughout the year. The way foliage buds, grows, change colors, shrivel and fall at appointed times. From a nature point of view, it’s easy to understand growing seasons, dormant seasons, seasons of preparation and harvest.
For those in one or two season climates, the correlation may not be as in your face all the time. Indeed, for most of us living modern lives in this technology-filled, automated, instant gratification world, it’s easy to forget we, too, are part of nature. We are of the earth – formed from dirt, filled with water, animated by air, heated with electrical currents. Our bodies are in harmony when we adhere to nature’s cycles. Perhaps our biggest torments happen when we are out of sync with nature, fighting against the season we’re in. Are you trying to grow in your dormant season? Attempting to harvest during your spring? Expecting to yield a good crop when you haven’t prepared your field?
Introspection and self-reflection are the keys to knowing where you are in the seasonal cycles of your life. Sometimes, we are so deep into what is consuming us, we can’t identify our location or our next move.
- introspection: the examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes.
- self-reflection: the activity of thinking about your own feelings and behavior, and the reasons that may lie behind them
My process
There are two times a year when I traditionally take a day or more to reflect on the prior year or year-to-date regarding my goals, plans, and works-in-process. For my birthday, I take the day or a weekend to reflect and examine where I am in the scheme of my ideas, plans and resources. I adjust what needs to be adjusted to keep moving forward.
For the last fifteen years or so, I’ve taken the last week of the year and the first week of the year off work. This is time I usually stay home. If I travel, it’s only for a couple of days in the middle. This time is for rest – no plans, no demands on me or my time. It’s for review, reflection, and outlining what I would like to do in the coming year.
There are long journal posts during theses times. What I’ve learned in rereading my journals through the years, is that nothing is ever finished when I want it to be, but there’s always progress. I am never in the same spot mentally, emotionally, spiritually or physically. The lessons are sitting there for me to mine during self-reflection and I’m always enriched by what I learn about myself. Imagine beginning each year with self-knowledge that reinforces the foundation of your life! Take the time to get in sync with yourself. Make it part of your seasonal cycle.
Nature does what is does
The Northern Hemisphere is ensconced in autumn. The leaves are changing colors, the days are more cool than warm, and the nights are chilly. No one had to tell the trees what to do. Or the grass to stop growing. These thoughts crossed my mind while driving through a changing landscape on a very warm September day. It still felt like summer to me, so I was behaving with a summer mindset. It was a shock to see yellowing leaves on trees. It wasn’t cold yet. Why were the trees changing when the weather was still warm? Why did I feel like I was left off a memo that would prepare me for the next season? Sounds simple, but I’m glad I’m still in awe of the intricacies of nature.
That still quiet voice answered me. Nature waits for no one. It doesn’t need the perfect conditions to shift into its next season. The times and processes are foretold and built into every living beings DNA.
I had a conversation with a couple a few nights ago. They were new parents who had just secured a babysitter for the first time in the eighteen months of their current season. They were on a date and were super tired. It was 8:40pm. We talked about how city life – lights, sounds, schedules – don’t allow humans to keep to a natural schedule. We are complicit in our own exhaustion. I shared that the time I was most at peace with my entire being was while living in Southern Arizona. I was up in time to greet the sunrise most days and began settling down when the sun set. The change of the day was visible through my windows in every room of my home. It was visible from every house in the valley. The husband shared that the best sleep he’s ever had was on camping trips in tents where he had a role on the ground.
Nature calls to each of us to remind us of our true connection and source. Are you listening? How do you respond?
A Note on Seasons
The seasons of your life – body, relationships, work, goals, etc – may not line up with Earth’s rotation or trip around the Sun. It’s important to identify the type of season you’re in so you can do as much of the necessary thing(s) as possible. Learn to recognize transitional periods for what they are as well. What is the most effective use of your energy during seasons of preparation and dormancy?
It’s taken me years to learn how to rest during my feminine cycle. I began working at sixteen. At thirty I moved to New York City and the hustle I arrived with elevated to a non-stop hyper-hustle. There was very little down time until I began shutting down at the end of the year. My period was just another stretch of days on the calendar – until another woman pointed out to me what was going on. I wasn’t just getting sick or developing monthly allergies. My body was fully depleting itself because I wasn’t allowing it periods of rest and recuperation. My body was literally shutting down because I had no understanding of my own physical cycle and the changes instigated by aging.
One of the reasons Southern Arizona was so good for me was because I wasn’t working all the time. When I got tired, I slept. When my monthly time neared and I was exhausted by 4pm or 5pm, I crawled into bed and slept for as long as my body needed. For the most part, I stopped getting sick on a monthly basis or fighting allergic reactions every other month.
On this side of the chronic work culture I once embraced, I am more in tune with my intangible needs for personal harmony.
How has your relationship with yourself changed as you age and mature? Do you listen to what your elements have to say? Do you honor your feelings? Do you respect your own humanity and earthiness?
Week 2: Journaling
Harvest Life 