Tracking Trauma Through the Seasons

It is easy to feel overloaded with life, like everything is just piling up in a never-ending stream of to-do’s. One of the best tools I have found to help regulate my feeling of “I need to accomplish x” is to track the flow of the seasons and align my energies with each one. Orienting myself at any given moment during the year is a powerful way to remind myself where the planetary gauge is, and give context to why I might be feeling the way I am feeling.

For example, knowing that December is the heart of the winter helps me feel empowered to rest deeply and just be, instead of trying to do. It is the time of year when I take note of my dreams and attune myself to the watery depths of my desires for the year to come.

Between each season is a natural return to center. Instead of thinking of the seasons as a circle with one flowing into the next without pause, think of the seasons as a distinct movement outwards from center in a certain direction followed by a return to center before another venture forward. Thinking of the seasons in this way helps us align with the natural fractal rhythm of nature’s most basic cycle, and serves as a reminder to always return to our center—to our bodies and our sensations—as the foundation for all exploration. Read more...