After writing about alchemy and becoming, this one feels like the next natural step… because once you start noticing change in your life, you also start to realise that nothing really moves in a straight line. Everything seems to come in cycles.
And I don’t just mean the obvious ones like seasons or routines, but the quieter, more personal cycles we go through without really thinking about them. Times when we feel motivated and energised, followed by times where everything feels a bit slower, heavier, or just… off.
For example, my reading funk. It didn’t last a few weeks or even a few months… it lasted years. I just couldn’t get into books the way I used to. Nothing held my attention, nothing pulled me in, and for someone who has always loved reading, that felt really strange. I remember people saying it might have had something to do with Covid, and maybe it did. Everything shifted during that time, didn’t it? Our focus, our habits, even our energy. But whatever the reason, it eventually passed (a couple of weeks ago and I’m delighted to be back reading again!). And that’s the thing with cycles… even the long ones don’t last forever.
For years, I used to think those slower periods meant something was wrong. That I wasn’t doing enough, or that I’d somehow lost momentum. But the older I get, the more I see those phases differently. Not as failures, but as part of the rhythm of life.
Because we can’t always be “on”. We’re not meant to be.
There are times for pushing forward, trying new things, and feeling inspired. But there are also times for resting, reflecting, and pulling back a little. And both are just as important, even if one feels a lot more comfortable than the other.
This idea of cycles isn’t new either. It shows up in so many different ways, including the traditional archetypes of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone — stages of life that represent youth, nurturing, and wisdom. And while those labels might not fit everyone in a literal sense, the idea behind them still resonates. We move through different phases of who we are, each one bringing something different with it.
It’s interesting how this idea shows up in books and films too. Groundhog Day is probably the most obvious example, repeating the same day over and over, but really it’s about what changes within that repetition. And books like The Midnight Library by Matt Haig explore how our lives can shift depending on the choices we make… different versions of the same life, in a way.
I think this becomes even more noticeable in midlife. Our energy shifts, our priorities change, and suddenly the idea of constantly doing, striving, and achieving doesn’t feel quite as appealing as it once did. Or at least… not all the time. And maybe that’s not something to fight against. Maybe it’s something to work with.
Instead of forcing ourselves to be productive when we’re exhausted, or inspired when we’re not, there’s something quite freeing about recognising the cycle you’re in and allowing it to be what it is. A slower phase doesn’t mean you’re stuck. It might just mean you’re gathering energy for what comes next.
And when you start to see life this way, everything feels a little less pressured. A little more natural. Not perfect, not constant… but flowing in its own way.
This is something I find myself coming back to again and again, and it’s very much reflected in my book too — that idea of moving through life in phases rather than trying to have everything figured out all at once. If that resonates, you can find it on Amazon but if you google The Enchanted Midlife by Suzy Turner, you will also find it on numerous other online bookstores.
