Have you ever wanted to be somewhere else in your life or in your business?

I'm raising my hand over here.

I fight like crazy to stay out of the proverbial darkness - the inner winters of life. I push like mad, that is until I don't. Eventually, I remind myself that the dark, though uncomfortable, has always given me profound gifts and the deepest, most nourishing rest.

Today's love letter is a reminder that our rhythms - the seasons we find ourselves in for better or worse, are the beautiful human path of abundant, generative living.

You are Nature.

Do you honor the seasons of your life and your energy? In our culture, with the frantic pace and the press to be productive at all costs, it can be so very challenging. However, living outside of your natural rhythm is an invitation to suffering.

Let me repeat: you are nature. You are made of earth, stardust, and the mystery of the soul. Learning how to recognize the blueprint of movement and manifestation within yourself and how your rhythms work is vital to doing the work you are here to do in sustainable ways. It is completely counter to the way we are taught to work — this false notion of perpetual growth, happiness, and light with endless profits and always-at-the-ready resources.

Perhaps you can sense how this fierce desire for constant growth and light and positivity is a marker of scarcity run amok. This is your reminder that there is another path, which is living into your wisdom.

The rhythm of growth and manifestation.

Laws of nature govern life on this earth: the seasons, the elements, and polarities like daylight and night, summer and winter, rest and action. We know these forces of nature intimately on a cellular level because these forces govern our bodies. Our culture works hard to make us believe that nature is to be overcome or managed as much as possible. This mistake creates a profound imbalance in individuals, communities, and the earth herself.

These forces of nature, the polarities, and cycles of life are the blueprint that nature surrounds us with and has imprinted in our DNA. This is how creation happens sustainably and in harmony with the earth and within our bodies.

These rhythms are the very heartbeat and foundation of all sacred resources. Most of us have natural proclivities to spend time in certain activities - much of that, in my opinion, is socialized. So when we begin to trust our natural rhythms and cycles, there is a process of unlearning so we can hear and respond to, the thrum of our own cycles. If we are used to being driven by the mind and societal expectations - this process of really listening to, and trusting our rhythm can feel very frustrating. The mind will want to jump to something it can understand.

The socialized mind desperately seeks the light.

In the personal development arena, there is a heavy focus on positivity, being inspired, and taking action toward creating the life you want. I couldn't agree more: these elements of choosing the light are so vital.

However, what seems to happen a fair amount is that when life is challenging or difficult emotions come up, or a need to simply retreat and rest, there is a bent toward shame or, even worse, trying to force the positivity, the light, the upbeat energy. Because... I SHOULDN'T FEEL THIS WAY!! I'm a coach, I'm beyond this kind of low vibe, I'm...better than this.

Reaching for light becomes a pathology.

When we believe that we should be perfectly positive, on fire, inspired, or expanding all the time, we lose out on an important source of our power: the truth of our nature. Just like the earth, we have seasons of light and darkness, expansion and contraction. This includes the full range of our human experience - the beautiful, the challenging, and everything in between.

Light is most evocative in contrast with shadow.

When there is a belief in "all light all the time" then there is a profound feeling of being broken, which is so not the case, sister. You are not broken. Your full, whole, rich, textured and evocative self is alive and well - you simply need to allow your natural cycles to work their powerful magic.

As a woman devoted to making a positive contribution to the world, this can seem counterintuitive - after all, capitalism is based on the very masculine, linear idea that constant growth and constant productivity are GOOD and everything else is bad. However, there are myriad ways to support yourself and your business in honoring and utilizing the powerful rhythms that are innately yours.

Here is a visual representation of the nature of these cycles:

Note that there is a whole world of movement that isn’t directly related to action. Note that there is a whole world of movement that isn’t related to stillness and idea generation. What is possible when we take a fuller, richer approach to our lives and how we bring our work into the world?

I find that when I’m in tune and in balance with my own rhythm, my joy and energy are infinite and more of the right things get done with a lot more ease and grace.

Cultivate your capacity for sustainable growth.

Through awareness of your own sacred rhythms, you deepen your self-mastery. The ways in which you move through the world are more evocative, more compelling, and more textured when you can revel in these natural cycles of light and dark, action and rest, growth and death.

You are invited to honestly consider what season of life you are in - what is your life, and your energy telling you about what you need? If it's a part of your rhythm that you are less comfortable with, can you give yourself permission to be right where you are? Can you remain open to the gifts of both quieter, darker times and the more active, productive seasons of your life? Reach out and tell me - are you in a more active, or a quieter, season of your business and life? Are you at ease in your natural rhythms?

The Wild Journey Home

Trust Your Rhythms