A journey toward cyclical living

Wild foods; late summers' harvest

Once upon a time, not all that long ago, all humans on earth lived cyclically. What does that even mean? That might depend on who you ask, but for me, it's quite simple, actually. Your life follows the rhythms and cycles of the earth rather than the beat of an industrialized, indoor, computerized world. This is what cyclical living means to me ~ living in tune with nature.

Think of the ebb and flow of the seasons. No matter where you live on this planet, there are changes that happen throughout the calendar year. In many older societies, the calendar year still is not even followed. Instead, they follow the moon and stars. An ancient and reliable way of marking the passage of time.

What good does this way of living offer? Why should we reclaim our cyclical nature? I’ll share with you my ongoing journey toward returning to this way of living, how it’s changed me in so many subtle yet powerful ways, and why I think it is so incredibly important.

A moment captured during the beginning of my journey toward earth based, cyclical living. During this chapter, I spent a lot of time simply being with nature.

My path toward cyclical living was a long and winding journey that continues today. Truthfully, it all began with an interest I developed in my health. At the ripe age of 18, I suddenly became starkly aware of how poorly I was treating my body through the processed foods I ate and the lack of exercise/time outside I gave myself.

I was working full time at a mega restaurant chain, and didn't really have much else going on in my life at that point, other than my boyfriend (now my life partner). He was certainly a big influence in the develop of my interest in my health, because he took an interest in it for himself, too. Together, we started learning about where our food came from, how it was effecting our bodies, and the environmental and social devastation our global agriculture system was (is) having on the world.

Lil ole me, giving an unplanned speech at a climate rally I organized in college.

I was pretty angry at first. We both were. I spoke out, I showed up to protests, I even organized a climate rally. While I still believe there is power to this form of activism, I don't believe its the most effective. I was completely ignorant of the system as a child, so I humbly assumed everyone else was like me: They simply don't know - but if they did - they'd change. Well, I quickly learned that isn't true for most folks. I'm not blaming individuals here, but the reality is that most people don't voluntarily change their way of living. I even learned in an anthropology class during college that historically, human societies have never changed their mode of production voluntarily. Major changes in how a societal system operates has always come out of necessity, which is usually when basic needs are no longer being met.

So that was a stark realization. I wasn't going to change peoples minds. But over the years, I've determined that while I can't change peoples behavior, I can at least inspire them through my own choices, teach them what I have learned (when they are interested in hearing), and I can preserve this way of life that I am watching rapidly disappear within my own lifetime.

From my awakening at 18, over the next decade, I embarked on a journey that would change me forever. The more I learned about the flaws of the system, the more I sought out alternatives. Since my journey began with health, my focus was on food and food systems. Through that I learned about climate change and the general destruction of the natural world. But again - my main lens was through food and health - so I focused on those components of humanity.

Soaking in the sun & earth, after a fullfilling day of work during my first year farming.

As I learned about the human induced destruction of mother nature, I simultaneously was rebuilding my own connection to the natural world. I began spending more and more time exploring outdoors. I began to really feel the healing peace that being connected to nature brings. I was becoming a better, healthier person. It was a snowball effect from then on. I started growing food for the first time in my life, and I got a job at a cute local herbal shop near by, which introduced me to herbal medicine.

Lucky for me, our herbal shop has an incredible community of plant people connected to it, so my job their exposed me to a whole subculture I never knew existed. These people were growing and wild foraging their own food and medicine, practicing traditions that have been forgotten in modern societies, speaking opening about the corruption in the system and advocating for change, listening to and playing music that comes from the soul and has meaningful messages woven within it, and were just down right funky, fun, earth loving people. My world expanded and deepened tenfold during that time period.

Harvesting root medicine during autumn

Now, at 28, I can't imagine living life any other way. I spend a large portion of my time outdoors, and even inside my home feels incredibly close to nature. I live in a tiny home without a central air system, without an electrical hook up (though we do plan to get solar electricity in the near future), and without modern plumbing. That all may sound shocking, and I'll admit I was definitely anxious with anticipation of loosing so many modern amenities voluntarily, but truthfully- I've been pleasantly surprised at how easy the transition was. I'm totally content with my living situation right now, and while I look forward to continuing to improve our conditions overtime, this experience has been a huge reminder for me that happiness does not come from material things. Our basic needs are met: We have shelter, heat (wood stove), access to food (largely which we grow ourselves) and clean water.

I definitely had plenty of training before living like this. I'd already been farming full time for 4 years prior, and farming definitely is a teacher of how to toughen up and live with outside elements. Even before I started farming, I spent most of my free time doing nature based activities such as gardening, hiking, canoeing, or just flat hanging out in nature. So I was no stranger to the discomforts the outdoors can bring. But one bonus that I hadn't really thought a lot about before moving onto a farm and into a very basic home was how much more in tune I would become with the rhythms of the earth. I'm more aware of the seasons changing and of the moon cycles and even the changes of day length than I ever have before. And truth be told, it feels incredible to be so tuned in. I feel like I belong here, like I too am a creature of the earth. It gives my life meaning and purpose. I'm not just a robot perform duties to an industrial technological human-made society: I am a living animal participating in the natural cycles of life and death. And you can return to our traditional ways of being, too... may my words be in service to you ~ of inspiration and guidance.

"Humankind has not woven the web of life.

We are but one thread within it.

Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.

All things are bound together.

All things connect."

~ Chief Seattle