honoring inner cycles

yesterday’s brilliant sunset at tempelhof

the further I journey down this map-less path, the more I realize how crucial it is to honor my own internal rhythms. by internal rhythms I mean — what feels good to do / when / and how often.

I start with observing the natural cycles of my body and psychic being as it shifts and changes over time. I can see the cycle of a single week. there is always a peak, and a low. and I see the cycle of a single day. I feel most creatively fluid and possible and alive between 6am-12pm, and then between 5pm-11pm. around 1, 2 or 3pm, I usually crash and feel like a useless rock. so I go take a walk, and listen to music, trusting that within two hours, it will shift again. and the next day. and the next day. each day is an experiment.

and so, I map my rhythms of work, rest, and play onto my ongoing understanding of these cycles. each act carries such a different energy — writing an essay, building a course, learning a language, seeing a friend, baking a cake — and the only way to know what feels good to do when is to pay close attention. to each moment.

to practice the necessary luxury of asking ourselves: what feels good to me now? and now. and now? and to give ourselves permission to let go of external voices. over time, I notice patterns that reoccur everyday.

I write best immediately after waking up, and before going to sleep — because it’s my liminal space. I like to study German in the early afternoon and early evenings. I enjoy alternating yoga and running everyday, except when I’m on my period. and I think, I note what feels good. and I live my life like this, day by day.

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related: three scales of time