For the Well Being of All

Nature has its seasons. We are part of nature. So why is there so much resistance to natural cycles and flows in our culture? The short answer is due to our conditioning, a society build on productivity and consumption and often an underdeveloped emotional system.

There is the simple balance between Stillness and Action, Being and Doing, Yin and Yang, Feminine and Masculine. Both need to exist to create wholeness. Diving a bit deeper there are the 5 Elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Water, Wood, Fire, Earth & Metal, each associated with a season. Let me unpack this a bit.

Winter is a season associated with stillness and quiet. We cozy up to the fire to read, gaze or ponder life. This is the place where dreams are born. It’s associated with water, a substance that takes many forms and thus is fluid in its existence, like our dreams. Deep fears have an opportunity to rise at this time and we have the time and space to engage with them, deepen into the water and access the wisdom that lives beneath the surface. Still waters run deep.

A dream we love is beginning to form. As Spring starts to show up, our energy begins to rise and we feel drawn to take action. Like the plants, a little idea bud is beginning to push through frozen ground to let its presence be known. It takes the resources we built up in the winter to have enough energy to accomplish this great feat of breaking through to the light. Frustration, irritation and anger can show up as we hit roadblocks in our way. We have the opportunity to sink below those initial emotions to tap into discernment and clarity which leads to better decision making and the courage to move forward – do we need to adjust our plan? Fine tune it? Go a different route? This is the gift of spring planning and the energy of the wood element.

As our project grows, we hit the high activity time of Summer’s Fire. We are actively involved bringing the project into full bloom, enjoying the fruits of our efforts with lightness and laughter, feeling the love of life. The challenge can be one of pretense and when we deepen beneath that we find the authentic joy of life, knowing that we are more than enough, just as we are. We offer our contribution, and it matters. We matter. A lot.

As we move into late summer, we reap the harvest of our efforts as we begin the completion phase. It is a time of celebration for the bounty we have created; this is the Earth Element. We may have excess worry – is there enough, what if this or that happens. When we sink below the worry, we can tap into the abundance that exists, rather than the worry that it will be gone too soon and we will be left, all alone. We can appreciate the giving and receiving aspects of life, the connections we have, the nourishment we’ve gained and the love that we have.

Autumn flows in bringing grief, for we are sad to see ‘it’ leave our lives. Too often we want to hang on, keep it as it was in summer or late summer, flowering and producing … but that just isn’t sustainable. So yes, we grieve but when we can do it with an acceptance of ‘what is’ we can appreciate the value it has brought into our lives and the lives of others. We are richer for having had the experience. We can honor all that is and let it go, knowing that we are heading back into the dream-time to dream our next dream into existence.

So yes, cycles within cycles, and this cycle applies to a year, a month, a day, any project … flow with the cycles and learn to navigate them well. It will support greater health and well-being on all levels.