natural rhythms

I am sitting on a rock, late at night, in the light of a full moon. The full moon is very evocative, and it brings much symbolism, to one such as me. But today, the thoughts coming to me, as I sit here, are to do with the natural rhythms of life: the day-night cycle. The rest of nature responds so naturally to it. Different animals become active as night falls. Here the frogs begin to croak, and insects can be heard. The smells of the vegetation change as well, as the cool night air replaces the heat of the day. All of nature, here on Earth, knows this day-night cycle, and lives by it. A little earlier I saw a bat flying about me for a while, but only after darkness had come.

It strikes me that we humans have moved away from some of these natural rhythms. It is night, and yet I can see artificial lights, electric lights. We create light to extend the feeling of daytime. And with that, we carry on with our other activities, talking and chatting, making noise late into the night, when naturally we would be resting or sleeping.

And of course with the full moon, I am reminded of the lunar cycle: the month long, waxing and waning, and the way it too influences life here on Earth. The tides get stronger. Women menstruate. And the dogs, like the wolves, are much more inclined to bark when the moon is full.

This monthly rhythm is also part of our nature, just as the day-night cycle is. And yet, we also tend to forget this monthly cycle, the rhythms that come with it. Our biorhythms are profoundly linked to the lunar cycle. Even as a man, my moods are tied in with the moon. And of course for women, it is even more clear.

Yet as a society, we have tried to overcome and change these natural rhythms, as if every day has to feel the same. We need to be equally efficient in our job, regardless of the day of the month. And so we cover it up. We ignore it, just as we find ways around the day-night rhythm.

But all of this is foolishness. We only superficially can escape these rhythms. Deeper down inside us, they are part of who we are. And only when we acknowledge that, only when we allow ourselves to flow with the rhythms of nature, can we feel relaxed in life. Only then will we remember that we, too, are part of nature. We, too, are an integral part of existence.