The Energy of You Volume XXI Issue #35

Hi Reader,

Next Sunday, most of the US will turn the clocks back an hour. I have to admit, I've never been a fan of changing the clocks, especially in the spring when we lose an hour of sleep. It always takes me a few weeks to adjust, and when it starts getting dark earlier, fitting in an evening walk becomes a little more challenging.

But as autumn settles in, I've noticed something else. I'm drawn to making stews, spending a little more time indoors, and curling up with a mug of tea. And that's true even though I live somewhere that doesn't get particularly cold.

For years, I dismissed those inclinations as a little silly. Why would I want to settle into a slower rhythm when the weather was still beautiful, and there was plenty to do?

I've come to see it differently. We're part of the natural world, and the changing seasons offer information about our own rhythms, if we're willing to pay attention.

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Your Energy Has Seasons

Nature doesn't run at the same pace all year. Trees let go of their leaves. Animals slow down and conserve. The whole living world shifts its rhythm as the light changes.

We are part of that world, too. Our nervous systems respond to light, temperature, and rhythm, and as the days shorten, many of us feel a natural pull toward rest, reflection, and turning inward.

Yet most of us were taught to hold the same pace from January to December. So when our energy dips in late autumn, we tend to read it as a problem. As if something were wrong with us.

What if it's a signal instead?

This is where energy literacy becomes so useful. When we can tell the difference between the tiredness of a season, the tiredness of an over-full week, and the deeper depletion that comes from carrying too much for too long, we can respond to what's actually happening. We stop guessing. We stop pushing through things that are asking for our attention.

Each of those signals asks for something different. Seasonal tiredness might ask for earlier evenings and softer mornings. An over-full week might ask for one thing to come off the list or ask for help. Deeper depletion might ask for a real conversation with yourself about what you're ready to set down or how you can fill your cup in a more consistent way.

Tuning in to your energy and body can offer insight. The practice is learning to listen.

The Shorter Days Check-In

A quick check-in that takes five minutes, in the late afternoon if you can, when the light starts to change.

Find a window or step outside for a moment. Let your eyes rest on the light as it is right now.

Take three slow breaths and let your shoulders drop a little lower with each one.

Then ask yourself, gently: What kind of tired am I today?

Let the answer come in how it wants to, a physical sensation, a knowing, an energetic nudge, before it comes in words. It might be a heaviness behind your eyes. A restlessness in your legs. A sense of anticipation or sluggish energy. Perhaps a quiet desire to curl up somewhere warm.

Then ask one more question: What would it look like to meet this, rather than override it?

Write down the first small thing that comes to mind. An earlier bedtime. A slower start tomorrow. Saying no to one thing this week.

That one small thing is you, taking the lead in your own well-being.

Learning the Language of Your Signals

Telling one kind of tired from another is a skill. Like any skill, it grows with practice.

That's why I created Return to Yourself: Six Practices for Energy Literacy. It's an ebook with companion audios you can listen to on an evening walk, if you can still squeeze one in before dark, or curled up with that mug of tea.

Each practice helps you become more fluent in the language of your mind, body, and energy. Over time, you'll recognize what a season, a busy week, or a long stretch of carrying too much is asking of you, and you'll know how to respond with care.

It's $27, and you can explore it here:

However this season arrives for you, I hope you give yourself permission to move at its pace.

Be Inspired,

Cathy

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