Cycles

We're all subject to them at one level or another.  The cycles of life are all around us in nearly every sense.

We have a daily cycle of dark, then light, then dark again as the earth spins.  We sleep, we get up, we do things and we sleep again.  And, of course, those daily cycles are influenced by the longer, yearly cycle as Earth travels around the sun.  The periods of light are growing shorter and the periods of dark, longer.  It's the way it is - and there are times when we handle it well - and others when we don't.

At the Genuine Faux Farm, we are twice blessed with cycles that have their beginnings and endings every year and are related to our occupations.  The farm, of course, has its yearly production cycles.  The raising of chicks, the planting of seeds - then the collection of eggs and the harvest from the plants that came from those seeds.  And, it just so happens that we also work with the academic or school calendar as Tammy goes through faculty workshops, student registration, etc and then moves through a school term until they reach their conclusions with final projects, exams and evaluation.

The cycles themselves have their stress-points.  And sometimes, the cycles of farm and school have coinciding stress points.... Like late August into early September.  

So, what happens when other things "go wrong" around those combined stress points?  Things like a storm that gives us some additional work to do?  Or maybe some equipment that decides not to work all that well for a while - requiring a shift to do repairs rather than the planned efforts?  

What happens when the beautiful blooms of sunflowers can be found laying in a grassy area after they were decapitated from their stalks?  Disrupting their natural cycle and, of course, symbolizing disruptions to the farmers' cycles as well?

We often do what we can to just keep moving - because that's what we have to do.  But, sometimes that results in an unhealthy sort of denial.  When we don't allow ourselves to recognize that we're feeling a little "out of sorts" then we don't do anything to address the problem(s).  Then, we find ourselves looking around and wondering why we aren't getting things done the way we usually do.

 I am still grieving a bit that the beautiful sunflowers were abruptly terminated a couple of weeks ago.  Yes, it is true - they were on the decline after a glorious peak.  But, I was looking forward to a few melancholy viewings where I appreciated the remaining beauty, but still wished for the peak blooms.  That may sound a bit odd - but observing the natural cycle of an annual flower is part of what keeps me ... well... healthy and grounded.  

But, suddenly all of the stalks are splintered and the flower heads were scattered over the ground.  The Goldfinches won't get their lovely Fall and Winter forest of stalks and seeds to flit around in this year.

Certainly, the end of our sunflowers this year is more symbolic to me rather than "the cause of all of my woes."  But, examining how I felt about their early exit helps me to understand better why some things are harder to do than they should be right now.  

We all go through these cycles in one way or another.  Good energy to get things done at one time and very little energy for the same things at another time.  I've found that, for me, the first step to getting some of that good energy back is to recognize that I don't currently have it.  Time to cycle upwards again.