Sacred Rhythms
There are rhythms baked into the fabric of reality. We ignore or violate these rhythms at our own risk.
Nearly all spiritual traditions acknowledge and teach different rhythms of reality. Whether it's resting weekly (Jewish Sabbath) or daily prayer (Salah in Islam) or not over exploiting the earth and letting the land rest every 7 years (Jewish Shmita) or rites of passage (like initiation into Sangha in Buddhism).
There are daily rhythms, like eating and sleeping. Monthly rhythms of the moon. Annual rhythms, like the seasons.
We live in a rhythmic universe.
Yet our modern lives have grown increasingly out of touch with the rhythms we used to be in tune with.
Modernity sees reality as life-less particles that we can organize however we want if we apply the right technology or force.
Pre-modern people saw reality differently. We don't get to arrange the world however we please. We are in relationship with something much bigger than us, something that we must respect and align ourselves with.
I'll be the first to admit that I indulge in our modern idiosyncrasies. I ignore the circadian rhythm and shine blue light in my eyes far past sunset. I ignore the weekly rhythms and rest only when I feel like it or, more often, when I burn out. I ignore the seasons in what I choose to eat. I ignore the metaphorical seasons in my life, and will start and stop things too quickly or too late, disregarding the signs of spring or autumn or winter in my life or work.
Not only are there universal rhythms, there are personal rhythms. We all need sleep, but how much each person needs differs. We all need a rhythm of rest, but the details and frequency of that rest will be unique to each person.
These personal rhythms are usually discovered through struggle and reflection. "I didn't realize I was isolating myself, but I've discovered I need regular relationships and community to be whole." "I love being a mother, but I begin to wither if I don't have time to myself once a week."
Modernity, with its values of production and autonomy, can look at rhythms as a nuisance to ignore or solve.
But for thousands of years people have seen these rhythms as something to be celebrated. Often, religious holidays were based around these rhythms. Celebrations of rest or harvest time or initiation into adulthood or even death and funerals.
Rhythms are not obstacles to production. They are the means to our highest creation. Recreation means to re-create. We re-create ourselves and our world when we step into these sacred rhythms.
Rhythms do not take away our autonomy any more than plugging your TV into the power outlet diminishes its autonomy. Rhythm is where we find alignment and the source of our life.
It can be difficult in a modern world to prioritize healthy rhythm. While living rhythmically is natural, it isn't normal in our world anymore. We have to be intentional to create rhythm and commit to it. And we have to be sensitive to notice what rhythms need to be tweaked, added or removed for different seasons of life.
May you sensitize yourself to the ebbs and flows of the tide of your life and honor the changing of seasons. May you resist the temptation to see yourself as above the laws of nature, or separate from the patterns of the world that birthed you. And may you learn to embrace the rhythms that give you vitality and peace, coming into alignment with the rhythmic dance of your life.
