I just love this picture. It is a fantastic pictorial image of Rhythm.
Rhythm. Such a glorious word. Makes me think of latin dancing, and samba nights, and tequila.
The word is so full of LIFE.
And rhythm IS life. There are rhythms all around us.
For the past 7 years or so, whenever I have done a talk or a parent workshop, I have asked parents to list all the worldly rhythms they know.
As a group, we come up with many.
Daylight to darkness, seasons, ocean tides, moon cycles, plant growth and harvest cycles, fish breeding cycles, weather patterns (eg summer storms in December), birth gestation periods, menstral cycles.... the list is enormous.
Yet, although we are surrounded by worldly rhythms all the time, it is not until we begin to list them that many of us can truly see that we, meaning human beings, cannot be separate from all these. Indeed, our very breathing and heartbeats are two predictable rhythms inside our own bodies.
But our lives today are often completely and totally chaotic and devoid of any semblance of rhythm at all. The second most common medical complaint in Australia is anxiety and depression related illness. (Likewise, I have read that Zoloft, an anti anxiety/depression drug, was the most commonly prescribed medicine in Australia in 2008) Is this a coincidence???
There are so many wonderful technologies that we have embraced that help us to complete our days- we can stay up all night if we want to thanks to the invention of electric light, we can eat any kind of food at any time of the day (even if is truly 'out of season'), we can buy gadgets that help reduce our physical workloads (eg mowers, dishwashers) and we can circumvent our monthly cycles by taking a little pill.
But at what cost?? More and more, we are realising that we can't truly beat nature. Living and working with no consideration for the natural cycles often does more harm than good. More and more women rely on IVF technologies to fall and sustain a pregnancy, if they are one of the lucky ones. Organic food sources are growing in number due to our demands for whole, unadulterated foods. Numerous research studies are looking into the long term effects of lack of sleep, and recent findings include things such as increases in car crashes and loss of brain function. Our sedentary lifestyles now mean that Gyms and homes fill with more gadgets and machines aimed at exercising our different muscles. Somehow, we have to fit exercise into our already full to the brims lives too!
Our health and lifestyles could do with a little bit of rhythm. Let's get in tune!
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