October 20, 2019
Get rhythm when you get the blues. -Johnny Cash
Today, we have a guest post from LifeWays graduate Emary Williams:
“R h y t h m. There is so much magic in this simple concept. When I first encountered Waldorf education, I saw the beautifully painted watercolor daily rhythm charts in the kindergarten and looked at the seasonal nature tables and loved them for their simple beauty. I didn’t realize then that they fill human beings’ need for rhythm. It is a heartbeat inside, it is the change of leaves in autumn, it is the dinner on our table, it is the sunrise, and the full moon. When I study the writings and lectures of Rudolf Steiner, I come back to this place.
I didn’t have much rhythm growing up. I didn’t have a bedtime; I went to school inside a cinderblock building with tiny windows and bright fluorescent lights; I didn’t notice the changing. I also didn’t know how much I needed rhythm. I think we all need it. We frenzy over pumpkin spice lattes, I don’t think it’s because they are just the most delicious thing ever, I think it’s because it is an anchor; it tells us the season is changing. Inside temperature controlled cars, homes, schools, and work, we don’t know the nights are getting slightly cooler. We eat whatever is at the grocery store (including asparagus in autumn and tomatoes at Christmas). We are confused and we are needing rhythm. The rest of nature thrives on it.
I have been working on rhythm for years now and I still don’t think there’s any end in sight. But what I know about it is this: I want more. I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience farm life, to see the plants and animals changing ever so slightly everyday. I appreciate the fresh milk that will be gone soon when the days grow cold. But most of all, I am grateful for the humans that I am living this rhythmic life with. My husband and children who sweat in the field with me and curl up around the fire, who eat what is in season with me until we are sick of it and then long for it when it’s gone. I’m thankful for every moment we share together and thankful to the One who made it all.”
“Healthy Home Rhythms” – a do-it-yourself, self-paced course to help you craft a life-sustaining rhythm for your family