Spiral of Life
Spirals are one of the most commonly occurring and interesting parts of the natural world so when the Spiral of Life concept was introduced to me throughout my Matrescence Coaching studies, it shocked me about how surprised I was to learn that life isn't as linear as I was lead to believe.
Nobody specifically told me, but various influences throughout my life painted a picture of what the "perfect" life looked like. And if life was perfect then you were happy and that was it right?
Well nothing shocked me more than the reality that came after becoming a mum. And it was a deep dark hole of realisation that perfect doesn't exist. Life is not linear.
Celtic Symbolism dating back to stone carvings from as early as 2500BC show a tri-spiral image thought to represent life, death & rebirth. Nature presents the golden ratio (a/b = (a+b)/a) and therefore Fibonacci spiral can be found in nature, if you know where to look. A snails shell, a sunflower. a spiderweb or the unique coil of your 3C curly hair. And even down to the Double Helix of our own DNA. Spirals are apart of us.
In one of our coaching calls, Linda (our mentor coach) very off-handedly mentioned that "life works in spirals. We never come back to the same spot and although it may look similar, the circle is never closed." *mind blown* Linda then went on to share a piece written by Friedensreich Hundertwasser in 1974 called "The Spiral" I've included the piece below and I am interested to hear your thoughts and perspective on this.
For someone like me where fear is a big trigger, it was almost freeing to know that history will never repeat itself. Although it may feel like you are here again or might be stressing over doing something again (childbirth anyone?) for fear that it might have the same challenges as last time, it will never be exactly the same. The situation might be similar. The external factors might be similar. It may feel similar. But you my friend. You are different. You have grown. You learnt SOMETHING from your last experience and you will take those lessons into this familiar scenario and it will be different.
So if you feel you are being triggered (again) by a particular situation, I encourage you to shift your focus on to the differences of today rather than the similarities of last time.
And personally, I am about to return to my professional job after 20 months parental leave. My fear of the unknown and failure keep popping up, but I am consciously focusing on all the growth and knowledge I have gained in the 4 years since my last return to work and as a minimum, I am grateful we are not in the middle of a global pandemic. I am content with where I am on my Spiral of Life and allowing myself to feel the feelings as they come up.
Do you feel in motherhood you have adopted a growth mindset?
Please share any scenarios that relate to your journey along the spiral of life.
THE SPIRAL
by Friedensreich Hundertwasser
The spiral is the symbol of life and death. The spiral lies at that very point where inanimate matter is transformed into life. It is my conviction that this has a religious basis, and the scientists confirm it too, that life must begin somewhere and that development from a lifeless matter has taken the form of a spiral.
I am convinced for example that the act of creation has the nature of a spiral.It is said in the Bible, in the beginning was only lifeless stone and then slowly life began. I believe the act breathing life into dead matter has the nature of a spiral. The spiral is constantly to be observed in lower and higher living organisms. The distant stars are disposed in spiral formations, and so are the molecules.
Our whole life proceeds in spirals.
Our earth describes a spiral course, that is we move in circles, but we never come back to the same point. The circle is not closed. We only reach the same level as the point where we began. It is characteristic of a spiral that it seems to be a circle but is not closed.
Of course there have at times been false conceptions of the spiral. It has been overstylised and become merely decorative. Or it has been so stylised as to be mere geometry.
A spiral can also be geometrically delineated with the spaces between its curves precisely measured, but it is a dead spiral, for everything which is sterile geometry is dead.
The spiral, as I see it, is a vegetative spiral, with swellings, where the lines become thicker and thinner, like the rings of a tree trunk, but with this difference, that they do not lie within one another, but form a coil. There is so much that can be said about spirals, other things, for example it is significant whether a spiral runs from the centre towards left or right.
The vicious spiral twists to the right like the Nazi swastika, the good one turns to the left. If a spiral rungs from the outer edge inwards against the clock, it is a good death; if it runs inwards and clockwise, it is a bad death. If it moves clockwise and outwards, it is a bad birth; if it moves outwards against the clock, it is a good birth.
It is interesting to note that in the northern hemisphere a whirlpool twists in a different direction than in the southern, even when water runs from a wash basin.
Crystals are not geometric formations as was once thought. Microscopic examination has shown that they build themselves up in coils, in fact like spiral staircases. When the surface of a crystal is viewed through a microscope, the steps of the staircase are clearly recognisable.
My spiral grows and dies like a plant - the lines of the spiral, like a meandering river, follow the laws of growth of a plant. I let it take its own course and go along with it. In this way I make no mistakes.
