To me, living in harmony with and honoring our natural cycles in this world is a true act of rebellion. I have really suffered from my conditioning to be doer in the world, in the traditional sense of the word, which I take to be active constantly. I am also a doer though, but in a different way, but to be a doer in that commonsensical, constant tasks kind of way absolutely drains me and leaves me temporarily exhausted or – if ongoing for too long – burnt out.
To claim a different life for ourselves we have to give ourselves permission to actually explore our preferred rhythms, which in turn means we sometimes – I guess often – need to rebel against conditioned and internalized norms as well as actual, concrete stuff like a 9-5 job that isn’t in our best interest for instance. Once we’ve done that, we’ve created a container for authentic exploration. What we find then will differ depending on who we are.
My own rhythm comes across as “unbalanced” to many people who don’t have the same wiring, and I used to believe I need more balance because people said so. But what happens for me if I listen to other peoples well meaning advice is that I cannot channel all the energy I have when it’s time for Crazy Creativity – “balance” here would mean stifling that energy. Similarly, if I would get out of the house to go for that “healthy walk” when I have my three days of decadent indoors time in my pjs I wouldn’t get enough of my kind of rest. I understand that my way of life isn’t compatible with a normal job – and that is why I don’t have one!
A cyclical life is one in which we are attuned to the phases of the Moon, our menstrual cycles, the cycles of the year and so on. Most of my readers are familiar with this stuff. But we also have to be able to individualize them and sometimes you might be in an inner state of “Winter” when others are in their “Summer”. In the Winter things are happening under ground, and we have lived in a world where we are taught to live as though it is Summer all year round, so we try to achieve that. But it simply isn’t sustainable! That’s not how Nature works, that’s not how life works, and that’s not how we function either.
I suspect that all people suffer from the abovementioned expectations more or less, but highly sensitive people suffer more from them. I truly believe that we who are sensitives will be able to create a positive ripple effect on the world if we ourselves summon the courage to create a life for ourselves where we honor our cycles fully. It doesn’t mean that everyone will end up living like we do, but it means opening up a space in which it will be possible for more people to live in accordance with their own preferred rhythm.
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