Rhythm: Lessons from the Road
06.15.24 | 28719
For Reflection:
Rhythm is also about movement. To create strong and weak beats, we must move. How is movement a part of your life’s rhythm?
Describe your life rhythm when you are at home.
Describe your life rhythm when you are traveling, or away from home in some way.
How are your life rhythms different in different places? How can you balance them?
What aspects of these rhythms help you best engage with the world around you? What aspects of your rhythm make you feel attentive, present, and alive?
Some rhythms require more or less attention. Intricate rhythms require more focus than a more steady and regular rhythm. How is your rhythm currently organized? Do you feel you have the attention necessary to fulfill your rhythms?
How do steady rhythms and intricate rhythms interact in your own life, day to day? What aspects of your life are regular or predictable, and what rhythms require more focus from you right now?
When you receive this in your inbox, I’ll be in Chattanooga, TN, on my way back to the Midwest with my little family. We are spending a portion of the summer away from our new home, moving around between a number of places to visit friends and family we haven’t been able to see during the school year. By the end of the summer, we will have been out of South Carolina for two months. Dominic will have worked three separate jobs in two states, and I will have slept on three continents and in nine U.S. states. It’ll be a big season of movement and change, to say the least.
We planned this big summer of travel in the hopes of seeing people and places that bring us joy (and, of course, so Dominic can maintain his professional connections outside of South Carolina). And we are feeling joy! The past few days have found me sitting with my Google Maps open, quietly making updates to our itineraries so we can visit national parks and hiking trails along the way. We’ve been compiling our reserve of playlists and podcast episodes for the long drive, in anticipation of the long driving days ahead. And we’ve been seeing friends here in South Carolina, feeling grateful to have forged strong relationships in our new state. Our departure this year feels different than it did last year, when we moved to South Carolina. This new place is beginning to feel like a home. We have people we care about and who care about us, and we have places around town that feel familiar. And of course, we’re only leaving this time for a couple of months – not forever (or at least a few years).
We also planned this big summer of travel to force us to be more present in the everyday. While I have loved making this new apartment feel like home (and truly, I have loved it), I am looking forward to the opportunity to disconnect from my possessions and to spend time listening to myself, my own thoughts, and my own body. I am hopeful that the constant change of this summer will encourage me to be conscious of and present to the beauty of the world around me, and what it means for me to be a part of it.
In the past couple weeks, I’ve been reminded that change happens quickly, even when we’re expecting it. And I have been reminded that the best way to appreciate and show up for change is to lean into it.
So, what does this all have to do with rhythm?
When I first decided to write about rhythm this month, I anticipated writing about the rhythm of days spent doing much of the same thing (i.e., the rhythms we find when we have a relatively regular work schedule, or the rhythms we find for seeing our friends and catching up on chores during the weekends). But the rhythm that is emerging for me, in this season of life, is a rhythm defined by a changing meter and a changing set of instruments. The symphony of my life, at least on the surface, doesn’t feel defined by a clear melody right now.
But symphonies with great leaps – symphonies that are interesting to listen to and fun to play – rely on some instruments to be steady. Even when the key signature and the time signature are changing, some instruments maintain the root of the chord, or maintain the big beat so everyone else can stay together. The same is true for the rhythms of our lives. Even when we’re in periods of great change, there are some instruments that remain rooted for us. To be present to change without becoming overwhelmed or lost, we lean into the big beats.
Next week, I’ll write a bit about the big beats in my life, right now. But for now, I’m curious what the rhythm of your life looks and feels like. Are you in a period of stability? Are you in a period of change? What does that music sound like?
Until next time, friends.