Finding a Seasonal Life Rhythm (Rewild Your Well-being, Part III)
Have you ever felt a sense of being out of sync? A feeling that even though you’re working hard and pushing forward, your energy is low and your efforts feel strained? That feeling of friction may be trying to tell you that you’re working counter to seasonality and the natural rhythms of your life.
In the last article, we explored how rewilding your midlife is a powerful invitation to reclaim your innate resilience and instinct. We looked at how to find possibility, reclaim your wisdom, and find your rootedness—the essential first steps of this journey.
Today, we're diving deeper into the concept of seasonality, which is especially important as we navigate midlife transitions. We'll examine how to stop working against your own rhythms and start flowing with the natural seasons of your life.
Nature operates in a powerful, non-linear way. Every year, a forest goes through a cycle of renewal, growth, shedding and rest. This is the seasonality of life, a concept that is the very foundation of rewilding. And it’s quite counter to the contemporary belief that we expect to live in an endless summer—always producing, always growing, always striving.
It’s understandable why living in a constant summer vibe is so attractive – it’s the feeling of the road goes on forever and the party never ends. But there’s a different kind of joy in living in rhythm with your seasons. It’s not about slowing down, rather, it’s about finding a more sustainable and genuine cadence for your life. It's about trusting that a period of rest or a time of letting go is just as productive and essential as a time of peak performance.
If you reflect a bit, you’ll find that you've experienced seasonality throughout your career and life, even if you never named it. Think about the preparation for an intense, high-pressure project (spring), followed by its launch (summer), the results debrief (autumn), and a quiet period of planning and reflection before the next big initiative (winter). This wisdom is already a part of you; it’s about consciously connecting with it.
By the time you get to midlife, you might be traveling in some well-worn life grooves, kind of like being on autopilot. It may feel like being stuck in one season, like a perpetual cycle of productivity when what you truly need is some quiet reflection.
Rewilding your midlife is about inviting the natural, cyclical flow of your busy life by connecting to your body’s own rhythms. Consider these three ideas on how you can start this process:
Navigating Your Personal Autumn: An autumn life timeframe is about harvest and release. It’s a powerful time to take stock of your life and recognize your accomplishments. But it’s also an invitation to shed what no longer serves you — whether it’s a belief system, a routine, or a career path. Listen to your body and your intuition to identify what’s ready to be released. Letting go of what you’ve outgrown creates space for what’s on the horizon.
Honoring the Winter of Your Life: In a world that values constant action, winter can feel challenging and unproductive. But this season of rest and stillness is essential for renewal. Just as we need to allow fields to lie fallow, honor your own periods of quiet and inactivity. Give yourself permission to simply be in this season, without feeling the need to push forward against this natural cycle.
Preparing for Your Emerging Spring: Just as spring follows winter, your inner spring will follow your period of rest. By shedding what you’ve outgrown and honoring your need for stillness, you’re planting the seeds for what’s to come. This new beginning won’t be forced; it will be a natural emergence, propelled by the wisdom of your own seasonal rhythm toward your most authentic path forward.
This entire process of listening to and heeding your life rhythms beings with a simple, consistent seasonal reflection practice.
The goal of this practice is to pause and reflect on your own inner calendar and how it's aligning with the seasons outside your door. You can choose to reflect on these questions weekly, monthly or quarterly.
There are several methods to do this. I encourage you to pick the one that feels most natural to you. Here are some suggestions:
For the writer: Use a notebook or journal to write your answers to the questions I’m about to share. This method is great for organizing your thoughts and tracking your journey over time.
For the speaker: Use a voice memo app or record a video on your phone. Simply press record and speak your answers out loud. This is a great way to process your thoughts and feelings without the pressure of writing.
For the visual creator: Create a digital mood board or a physical collage. Use images, colors, and words that represent the seasons we’re exploring. This is a wonderful way to explore and express your feelings non-verbally and intuitively.
Regardless of the method you choose, here’s a series of reflection questions:
Your Autumn (Harvest and Release): What are the "leaves" you’re ready to let go of from the past year—a draining commitment, a well-worn belief, or an old story you've been carrying? Maybe there’s some physical clearing that’s calling you. As you let go, reflect on the gift of wisdom this release is providing.
Your Winter (Rest and Stillness): Think back on a time in the past year when you felt the need to retreat or were forced to slow down. How did you honor that period of stillness, and what renewal emerged from it?
Your Spring (Renewal and Growth): Can you identify a time in the past year when you felt a surge of new energy or a spark of possibility? What type of idea or new direction was trying to take root?
Your Summer (Action and Expansion): When in the past year were you in a state of thriving? What did you learn from that period of peak performance about sustainability and integration?
Once you complete those reflections, I encourage you to take it a step further by identifying the central theme or core lesson that has emerged from the past year. Then determine how you can use that insight to rewild your next life chapter in alignment with your natural, seasonal rhythms.
It’s my hope that your seasonal reflections help you see that life doesn’t have to grow in curated rows or need to bloom year round. By honoring the cycles of your life – including the intentional autumn release and the quiet winter stillness – you can become the steward of your own inner landscape.
You have the power to cultivate a life that is not just productive, but deeply vibrant, resilient, and in perfect rhythm with who you are and how you want to live.
Journal Reflections: What season of life are you in now? What is this season trying to teach you? How can you honor your natural rhythms to cultivate your path forward?
Links:
Free PDF: Outdoor Wellness Integration Checklist
YouTube: The Athena Wellness Channel
Work with Kathy: Coaching Opportunities
Email Kathy: hello@athenawellness.com