“We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used while we created them.” – Albert Einstien

Do we expect an apple tree to bear fruit all year round?

Do we disturb an acorn every two weeks to see it has yet become an oak tree?

Would we awaken the sleeping dormouse midwinter and ask it to frolic and scurry in the icy cold moonlight? 

No.

Because even in these times of disconnect there is still a part of us that understands the nature of reality.

We see that an apple tree needs time to replenish, to take in nutrients from the soil, to shed its leaves and start again before it can produce crisp, delicious apples. 

We think it obvious.

We do not rush the acorn to reach its potential before it has been nurtured and fed by the soil and allowed time to grow. 

To think otherwise seems foolish.

We know that the dormouse will perish if forced out of hibernation into the bare, bleak winter, against the very mechanisms keeping her alive during lean times.

Yet…

Our connection to the natural rhythm of life is cut off from our “civilised” human lives. Our world of disconnect.

We expect to produce outputs in all seasons. Whether that output be material produce or “fantastic customer service – smile!”. We expect perfection and instant gratification whatever the weather. 

We punish ourselves and are punished for not being what we could be yet. We give up on ideas and dreams that we had for our lives because we had not yet seen growth. We wrote ourselves off as failures and stopped tending the fertile soil of our imagination before the green shoots had even had chance to rise from the darkness. Because our society asks why it didn’t happen yesterday.

As western women, in order to be seen and heard in the workplace and in society, our culture demands that our menstruating, hibernating bodies keep going long after our hormones and resources have plummeted. We live in the denial of the damage this can do in the long term.

Our economic system demands constant growth and yet we wonder why sustainable action in business is so complicated.

Our civilised life, with its 24 hour consumerist habit, has become so far removed from the rhythms of nature that we are burning out our bodies, our hearts, our ecosystems, our resources and our world.

As much as we humans see ourselves as superior to nature, we live in animal bodies that still obey the natural law.

Our disconnect is costing us our mental wellbeing, our creativity, our joy, our health and our future.

The crazy thing is though, the solution isn’t that hard.

Sustainable action is not an extra thing we need to do. Sustainable action is actually allowing ourselves to reprioritise, to do less.. 

Sustainable action is simply allowing our bodies to return to their natural rhythms.

What would it be like if we turned away from our 24 hour consumerist culture to prioritise sleep? What would it be like if laws protected sleep and that it was essential that every human being got 8 hours sleep (or what they needed) a night.
Can you imagine the reduction in stress, the rise in happiness levels?
When we are happy and relaxed we consume less and are more creative and effective. A perfect compost for sustainable, world nurturing habits.

What would it be like if every woman was allowed 3 days (or more!) off a month to recharge during menstruation? Can you imagine the creativitiy that would come from that?

The restructuring of timetables, the focussed reprioritisation of objectives and the sheer magic of a woman fully replenished with 3 days of creative and innovative dreaming in her toolkit.

When we allow space for rest, for growth, for dreaming… magic happens.

In that space, rather than be small and stunted through lack of light, the acorn grows into a mighty oak.

Something can only ever be as magnificent as the space it has to grow. 

Prioritising time out for ourselves to replenish in nature, despite other obligations, is one way to do this. 

Changing organisational structures to allow more time for rest and innovation is another.

Einstein once said that we cannot solve problems using the same thinking that created them. We cannot create a wilder world in a culture where not even our bodies are used in a sustainable way. Even conservation professionals are burning out. 

Each of us needs to be a model for sustainability. 

In order for our world to replenish, we need to make a stand for our own need to replenish.

Once we learn to treat our bodies sustainably, we have already learned the blueprint to create a better world.

“Something can only be as magnificent as the space it has to grow”

Does this resonate with you?

If you are a woman dedicated to supporting the planet yet feeling on the path to burn out…

If you know deep in your heart that there is another way to navigate life that allows you time to rest and replenish and still make an impact…

If you need guidance on how to do this…

I would love to invite you for a cup of tea and chat to help you to discover your own unique way of creating a model of sustainability through listening to your own body. 

I am offering 1 hour long Curiosity calls to help you to discover your own way to be sustainable in your own body so that you can rise like the oak and make a sustainable impact in your world feeling supported, replenished and empowered. 

Just click on the link below to book your slot.