Opening to blood & beauty
A New Year's Resolution
“People are afraid of beauty.”
My co-writer and I were commiserating during a rehearsal process, sipping coffee on the back porch of a theatre. We were discussing the friction that arose in the company when we made the bold stylistic choices.
When he spoke his hypothesis into the brisk fall air - that the company were afraid of beauty - it shocked me. I realized -
I was one of those people.
“Being of one’s hour”
The Koine Greek word for “beautiful” is etymologically derived from the word ὥρα, hōra, meaning "hour.” In Koine Greek, beauty was associated with "being of one's hour.”
This idea transformed my experience of beauty: beauty is being where and when you are.
Beauty doesn’t have to be achieved or performed; it is something we experience and embody through every transition.
Beauty is not just found in blooming, but in the quiet moments of rest and renewal.
It’s in not just in the harvest, but in the fields dying back in late autumn -
Not just stories written in youthful optimistic, but in a those woven through years and years of experience -
First encounters and last goodbyes -
The power of the waves and the simmering of low tide.
Not just in the vibrant intensity of ovulation, but in the power of your monthly blood -
Let me explain.
The Present Tense
In a youth and productivity obsessed culture, it is difficult to expand our definition of beauty to include the “present tense.”
For me, one of the most meaningful portals to presence is Cycle Charting, the practice of tracking biomarkers of your menstrual-ovulatory cycle.
Often seen merely as a biological process, Cycle Charting holds profound wisdom for understanding the deeper layers of our beauty in our bodies and our world.
It is a portal to awe and presence that stood in defiance of societal norms.
Coming to know my cycle puts me in touch with the present tense - and thereby beauty: being where I am.
Here’s how I’m choosing to build my capacity for beauty & presence this year:
Maximizing slowness: savoring meals, reading long novels, allowing time for unstructured spontaneity, meditation
Inviting in wonder: reading and sharing more poetry, more sunshine directly onto my skin, tracking my cycle
Inviting in play: making bolder choices in my wardrobe & my living space, building scavenger hunts for friends, thinking deeply & making quickly
With gratitude,
Kate
P.S. If you’re curious about cycle tracking, I offer an online course of the Cycle Tracking basics twice a year via Earth Body School.
In this class, you’ll learn to:
Track signs of your fertility using basal body temperature & vaginal secretions
Record your observations on a chart
Use the chart to determine your fertile window
Make informed decisions about contraception, conception, lifestyle, hormone balancing, self-care, and more
To learn more, visit earthbodyschool.com/cycle-tracking