The Rhythms of Life Enrich the Music of Every Day, if We Let Them
The rhythms of our thoughts and feelings reflect the rhythms of life. How can they do otherwise? Go large and think about the cosmos, come in and think about lunch. Breathe in, breathe out. If you dance with it, it doesn’t feel scattered or weird and you don’t get torn.
It feels delicious to tune into the movement of the new season – notice bright green buds emerging, babies being born, and the days getting longer. The northern half of our planet points toward the sun and we get more energy to get work done. Being aware of these cycles helps us appreciate the phase we’re in now – because it will pass. My friend Harriet Witt has created lovely, mind-expanding signposts of our global cycles. You can write to her to get a weekly reminder about Where we Our in Our Journey Around the Sun. [email protected].
If you look at it from far enough out, the first part of our life is generally expansion: growing bigger, learning new things, accumulating knowledge and possessions. Expand. Then at some point, we begin to contract. Breathe out. We need fewer things, loose function, eat less. Contraction balances the cycle. As I tell my clients, you can’t just breathe in. You have to squeeze out the old, used breath each time to make room for new, oxygenated air. Ultimately, our life ends with the final exhale. Contract.
“We measure the strength of the body by what it can take on. We measure the strength of the mind by what it can put down.” ~ Unknown
Let Nature Sustain You
So as winter gives way to spring and new life, we are naturally called to clean out the closets, shed any pounds we accumulated in winter, and reset outdated patterns. Letting go is as important as building in the big picture.
For an easy, gentle liver cleanse during the month of March, try eating one raw beet every day, grated in a salad or chewed like an apple as an afternoon snack. A daily cinnamon stick can serve the same purpose. This is also a good time to revisit healthy practices that may have fallen by the wayside. There’s a cultural drive for new and different – the latest technology, gotta have more – and also a growing awareness that collectively we consume too much, use the earth too hard, and disregard its natural balance. The rhythms of life are sustainable if we honor and live by them.
The deepest questions are those humans have always asked: “Why and I here?” “Where am I going?” If you thought you had the answers in your youth, ask again and watch your answers change.
Notice What’s Going On in Nature
Whatever you’re occupied with today, take a moment to notice the spring air, appreciate your lungs that pump it in and out, and your aliveness in the moment. Without being revolutionary, that simple moment may wind up being the most profound of your day.
Constantly dancing from balance point to wobble and back to balance; looking outward and looking inward; doing and resting – ultimately that’s all we can do. That’s all we need to do. Breathe in, breathe out. 
Body Whisperer, Denise LaBarre, has a private healing practice on Maui, 808-575-2244. You can learn more body-emotional wisdom in her book Issues in Your Tissues: Heal Body and Emotion from the Inside Out or go to her website: www.HealingCatalyst.com.
*** This article first appeared in Living Aloha Magazine, March/April 2015. www.livingaloha.net
#rhythmsoflife #esistentialism #cosmos #seasonalchange