Whirlpools of Time: structures in everyday life

I've been working hard on building structures this winter. Over the past year I've been working three jobs: teaching sociology at Roosevelt University, bartending in the evening, and of course, nurturing the growth of First Curve Apothecary. All while navigating the responsibilities of home, planning a wedding, and keeping up with friends and loved ones. It's been a lot to manage, and while all these things bring me joy in different ways, it can be easy to feel like I'm in too many different places at once.

And while I've needed structures to get me here, I feel like this season of my life is asking for a whole new level and commitment to the structures I create for myself. So I want to share a bit about what I've learned so far in building structures that align with one's own values and needs.

But before I get into some the insights I want to share, what does structure have to do with wellness or even herbalism?

Structures nurture coherence

I feel that building clear, enduring, and flexible structures in one's life can contribute to wellness in so many ways, but here are just a few:

• Structures support nervous system coherence – when we are constantly jumping from one thing to another without any sense of ‘what comes next’ other than whatever feels most pressing, we are forcing ourselves into a constant fight or flight mode, which can easily lead to chronic stress and burnout.
• Structures guard against chronic stress – In this chronic stress state, things start to fall through the cracks. And what are often the first things to fall through? Genuine self-care routines, tending to relationships, making quality food. In other words, all the things that often have the biggest impact on our well being get tossed for the things that feel most ‘pressing’ (work deadlines, never-ending email lists, etc.)

Part of my work with clients often entails supporting them in building structures that work for them an an effort to achieve their wellness goals and stick with the protocol we create together. And what's amazing is that with each individual, the structure is entirely unique. Like the structure of the branching on a tree, no structure is the same among two trees. So it's important that the structure emerges from the inside out.

At this point, I should acknowledge that structure might be a scary word for some (especially for vata types like myself). But the value here lies in something that you create for yourself that works for the way you navigate the world.

A few insights that have come from this work over the past year or so (but especially this past winter):

Structures don't have to be linear and rigid. In fact, they work better if they are like the structure of a tree: flexible and curvy.

Flexible in the sense that every week, new stuff gets thrown at us and our structures need to be able to bend against the winds that hit us. For me, at the beginning of each week, I take a look at what's on the horizon and build my weekly structures from there (loosely based off a general weekly template that I've refined over time).

Curvy in the sense that, like trees, the branches unfold where the light (energy) is. Maybe the internet says it's best to exercise in the afternoon for some physiological reason, but does this actually work for you and where your energy is?

Maybe your favorite writer's structure entailed waking up, stretching, and writing from 6am to 11am before eating lunch. But is this the best time for you?

These are the differences between building structures from the inside-out vs the outside-in. We can be inspired by others, and even take not of some physiological realities (like, sleeping when it's dark), while still creating a structure unique to us. Taking in what's not yours, what doesn't work for you, will not be sustainable in the long run.

Whirlpools of time

There is another aspect to the curvy nature of structures: When you set time aside for something (writing, following up with emails, budgeting, creative work, exercise, meal planning, time with friends and loved ones, doodling, writing poems, listening to records, household chores, putting your kiddo to bed, date night, etc.) it might seem like your life is going to become some rigid, mechanized, assembly line where we are stumbling from one thing to the next while time marches ever onward.

But when we are fully present in what we set aside, time flows more like a whirlpool, collecting and flowing within the container we've created, sometimes flowing with deep intensity, and sometimes ever so gently as we delve deeply into the task at hand.

From this built in limitation emerges the potential for a profound sense of freedom and playfulness in what we do, unencumbered by the anxieties of “what’s next” or “I could be doing something more productive” or "I should be doing that other thing instead of this thing". Not that those voices go away just because you've created a structure, but the more we commit to the structures we've made for ourselves, and practice presence within the times we've blocked off for a particular activity, the more access we will have to the inner resources that contribute most to what's called for in that moment! So when you are doing creative work, your creative self knows when to step in, when we are doing administrative work, our administrative self shows up right on time.

Finally, while structures definitely fall into our wellness toolkit, they are also necessary in building integrity – which in one sense is about how we integrate all the contradictory parts of ourself to show up for the work we are here to do on earth.