Attune to the Moon

How to use natural rhythms for greater creativity and easier productivity

Photo by Ramiro Martinez on Unsplash

Pushing towards success has its limits. It might work for a while — pushing employees, colleagues, spouses, children; pushing against what is; pushing oneself — until it doesn’t. Eventually, inevitably, resources deplete. Pushing is not a sustainable approach to success.

I know. I pushed my way out of the trailer park, through a college education, up through various levels of outward success, right into burnout. I ignored my needs, my dissatisfaction, all the warnings. As my marriage, and then my health, and eventually my job performance suffered, I put my head down and pushed harder.

It all crashed.

That’s the problem with pushing: the willfulness that makes you think you can ignore the signs — put your head down and push harder — is EXACTLY what leads to burnout.

The most liberating thing I learned in my recovery is that easeful success was available to me the whole time. Like Dorothy, I wore the ruby slippers that could take me “home” to meaningful and sustainable work. All I had to do was surrender to the flow.

Finding the Rhythm Within

Nature is dominated by rhythms, and we are part of nature. Seasons, tides, night and day are all driven by the dance of the Sun, Earth and Moon through space. I chuckle now to think I could ever ignore these forces.

The moon, because of its close proximity and daily cycle, has the most immediate impact on us. Its gravitational force pulls the ocean’s tides; mustn’t it affect our watery human bodies? Many animals use the moon for navigation and reproductive timing. Is it possible the moon activates ancient signals within our brain and endocrine system, too?

For the past four years I’ve been tuning into moon cycles, observing their impact on me and my work. The moon has reflected to me my cycles of idea generation and review. It has taught me when to sow (invest my energy) and when to reap (harvest my return). It shows me when to take action and when to surrender. I’ve released much which didn’t really work for me. More and more, I’ve narrowed my focus to what delights me. Life has gotten easier and lighter.