Over the past few years as I’ve immersed in learning more about how to live and lead from the “feminine” energy, and in alignment with the laws of nature, the spiral has been a dominant image.
At first, I noticed a lot of resistance to the concept of spirals. The word “spiral” had a negative connotation for me. To my ADHD brain that often finds itself in overwhelm, “spiral” is how I would describe the thoughts that flooded my mind. When I got hooked into thoughts and emotions, everything would devolve into a downward spiral.
A few years ago, I created an acronym that describes the various emotional and mental energies that show up when we feel like we are in CHAOS. The first thing that came to me for the S was “spiraling.”
The funny thing about the laws of nature is that they work on you whether or not you want to accept them.
Understanding this now, it’s not surprising that I’ve “come around” in my appreciation for the spiral; that’s how the spiral works.
The spiral is the way of nature. Nature is about seasons, cycles, and rhythms. In nature, time is not linear; it is cyclical. Our bodies (also part of nature) also work in spirals, from the structure of our DNA to our circadian and ultradian rhythms.
Everything comes around in time.
Spirals as the Path to Progress
As I deepen in my understanding of how to work with the laws of nature, I am gaining new respect for the spiral. I see how often this concept has been dishonored in our culture, which promotes a linear model of time and progress.
In the dominant linear narrative, the metaphor “running in circles” describes a situation where we aren’t getting anywhere because we’re always coming back to the same place. Running around in circles implies that we’re stuck.
Putting aside the question of “where” are we trying to get to, what if “running around in circles” is exactly how we “get there”?
In nature, nothing moves backwards. Everything moves forwards. The ending of one thing — i.e., its “death” — is the beginning of the next thing — i.e., “birth.” In nature, nothing stays the same.
Every day, you wake up as a different person. You have the benefit of yesterday’s experiences and your body has made new cells. On the most granular level, you’re not the same person you were yesterday
Although we may “come back around” to the same issues or sticking points, we are never in exactly the same place as where we started because we are new and the place is new. Nature is always changing.
Even if, for the sake of argument, the place were exactly the same, the benefit of our growth and experience gives us new perspective, so we would see the “same place” through different eyes.
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. — Heraclitus
Each time we come back around, we get the opportunity to see and do things differently. This is how we level-up.
Spirals are the path to progress.
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