When Chaos Reigns — Find Rhythm with Nature
Align yourself with your biological knowing
I’m feeling as though much of the despair and fear that I’ve experienced over the last few years is receding, like the tide going out or like snow melting slowly in the warm sunshine of spring. These natural changes are gradual, if you didn’t study closely you might barely notice, but the eventual change is dramatic. I don’t use these metaphors of nature lightly, they’re meant to help demonstrate that nature’s cycles, rhythms and patterns are designed to help us live our full and healthy lives.
When I was a child, my father would wake me very early to go turkey hunting in the spring hunting season in northern Missouri. My young body and mind, unable to grasp the power of the morning, of the sunrise, of the waking of the day, fought my father to stay in bed. I am frustrated with that young boy for not seeing the full power, joy and delight, and the medicine that the morning provides us as human beings.
As I turn 46 this summer, I feel as if I am finally starting to understand the power of the morning. I am that little boy once again and am able to relive my life with new and fresh eyes with excitement to face another day. Nature has provided me with a perfect template for constructing my day and my life. It is my body’s goal, to find rhythm.
Most of the chaos and disorder in our lives could be avoided by creating structure, anchors in time, cycles and rhythms that are adhered to. As the sun and moon adhere to their respective laws and rules, as the tide comes and goes like clockwork, as the seasons change on schedule, we too must find ways to create more rigid patterns in our lives to help provide a sense of calm and ease in a world seemingly gone mad.
We must never hide in the false comforts of our beds. Our beds are only for sleeping, and to be used sparingly. Don’t lie in bed when it’s not bedtime. It will slowly steal your life. If you are sick or unable to walk or move, it’s okay to stay in bed. Nature is right outside your door offering you health, wisdom and peace.
I am grateful to be experiencing a renaissance of life due in part to my seeking out and discovering the rhythms that align with the cycles of nature where I reside. Up before the sunrise, walking in the fresh morning air, being consistent with my routines whether it’s a weekend or not. For some, it might feel like a restricted and overly orderly life, but I believe that if your life feels chaotic, it’s because your natural rhythm is off. There is a perfect template built into the rising sun, the lunar cycles, the seasons, the tides. The map is there, and you can follow it.
A couple of suggestions:
- Get up at the same time everyday. Yes, the weekends too.
- Go to bed around the same time every night. It’s deeply engrained in our biology to have rhythm with the sunset and to seek shelter and rest at night.
- Go for a walk first thing after drinking water, brushing your teeth and washing your face. No matter the season. No such thing as bad weather, only bad gear.
- Create room for ritual in the morning. Meditate. Drink lemon and honey water. Make time for reading and contemplation.
- Create or seek purpose early. Have a job. Be useful and productive early in the day.
- Make time for walks at a few points throughout your day to seek sunshine or weather of any kind. Touch, smell, see, taste, and listen.
- Make sure food is a tool for energy use and not for recreation. Have anchors of feeding 1–3 times a day that are consistent.
- Have a consistent nightly routine. Find structure that you can rely on. Make structure a priority.
Be well. Good luck.
