What if the world went cyclical again?
I can’t imagine it
This is one of my free essays. I was really tempted to make the comments for paid subscribers only because that seems like what we’re supposed to do on Substack. But I would rather foster discussion. If you would like to support me as a paid subscriber, it would really make a difference in my ability to take time away from my household, sit down and write these essays.
Last week, I dreamt a bit about what my life could look like if I totally embraced cyclical living. Turns out, it’s kind of hard to imagine but not impossible.
So this week I’ve made an easy exercise for myself (that is not what I’ve done) and will be dreaming a bit about something broader.
What if the world went cyclical again?
What if the world ran by all the cycles, all the time, everywhere?
First, I think we have to get clear about something. Much of our modern world—all of it that I’ve personally experienced and which is widespread—does not run according to “natural” cycles. Not the circadian rhythms, not the seasons, not menstrual cycles, nothing.
It used to, of course. Society used to run on a cyclical model because that was all we had.1 Day and night, seasons, reproductive cycles of humans and animals, life and death. That was the world modern humans were formed in. There was no opting out.
Now, nearly everything about the modern society pushes us (and the planet) far from our cyclical selves.2 There are so many ways to opt out of the constraints of cycles that it’s actually harder to opt in to living by them.
Amazing things have been accomplished because we have pushed beyond the bounds of natural cycles. Let’s not forget that. It’s why I’m typing to you now. (And why you could share this publication with a friend…)
But how much are we doing now to compensate for the effects of society being divorced from the cyclical nature of the planet and ourselves? Compensation, I suppose, is one of the better outcomes actually. How much work are we doing because of the damage done by society playing by different rules than what made us? What can we not even compensate for any longer?3
Individuals are the ones currently dealing with the fact that society is not cyclically based but humans and the planet still are. Largely, I think we’re having to deal with this on our owns—not as communities or larger, cooperative bodies.4 It’s expensive, and depressing. It’s a feedback loop some of us feel we can’t get out of. Meanwhile, the planet literally burns and the oceans warm.5
While it may not seem the most realistic scenario to consider what would happen if society turned cyclical again, I think it’s one that we should consider if for no other reason than maybe the process will make us see things differently. Maybe it will inspire us to different action.
Because I think we can agree that it’s not looking good.
All that to say, let me grapple with the question of what if the modern world went cyclical.6 It’s going to be rough, but let’s go…
Turns out it’s really hard to write about this without falling straight in how the world would do this. It seems that’s actually easier to wrestle with/bemoan than imagining what a modern cyclical world might look like.
Because this would be an entirely new version. We had a cyclical world from, essentially, the Dawn of Time until cyclical living’s comparatively swift decline from maybe 1600 onward. But it’s unlikely things will look exactly like that again. I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, but a future that looks like 400AD only comes at the cost of extreme loss.
I’m trying to imagine a cyclical future we can choose to embrace—not that’s forced upon us—and is as positive as possible.
Hard right?
Like let’s start with menstrual cycles, because they’re awesome and we should talk about them more.
What if the world centered menstrual cycles has a meaningful influence?
Can you even picture this? I’m struggling to.
Now, I’m not talking about paid menstrual leave. That’s actually too small a vision. What if the entirety of women and menstruating people’s cycles—menstruation, pre-ovulation, ovulation, luteal and all the realities therein—factored into how the world runs? This also includes what menstruating bodies are capable of, namely, growing and birthing babies. Right now, that experience is pushed to the margins. Deny it, medicate it, don’t even show the world a red spot on your pants, go hide in a closet if you need to feed your tiny human. That’s the memo we get.
What if that was flipped on its head and menstrual cycles informed politics, businesses, public conversations, everything. Shoot, even infrastructure?
Try to live by the rhythm of your cycle as a menstruation person for one month and you realize if this happened it would mean a total renovation of society. Because to do it means a renovation of your own life. I can hardly imagine what it would look like for the businesses I’ve worked in—small cafes, libraries and shops—let alone what it would mean for large businesses, corporations, or factories. Heck, what would happen to Wall Street? Could they all be able to adapt?
And this is where it gets really difficult. Scaling up cyclical living isn’t something my brain can deal with well.
What would it look like if the pace of the workday and week, production, ship times, meeting times and lengths, and other elements of work were made to align with the needs of 50% of workers rather than the other way around? What if businesses conformed to the realities of menstruating people’s bodies rather than menstruating bodies conforming to business? Personally, if this happened I think it would spill over and non-menstruating people would also benefit. If we decide that the reality of the body matters, then this means that non-menstruating people can take the care they need too.
Maybe it sounds bananas—we’re just doing some imagining here, after all. But while it may seem like a pipe dream, giving human beings who happen to be workers bathroom breaks or ample time off when they’ve had a baby shouldn’t even be a question. Yet that and more happens entirely too often. So why is providing time and space for people to care for themselves so wild and crazy?7
My small rant aside, just take one example. What would happen to the postal system if menstruating bodies matter?
The questions just keep coming.
What would happen if the seasons fully informed society again? Are there no lemons in Pennsylvania groceries stores anymore, or just when they’re in season in other parts of the world?8 What do we do about the seasons becoming more extreme as the climate crisis continues? How do people who are accustomed to living at 67°F all year round and go from a temperature controlled house to a temperature controlled car and who consequently don’t own a coat transition to living with the seasons?
Folks, I just don’t know.
So I must admit: I can’t imagine it. I’m a pretty good dreamer I think, but this future I can’t picture. All I can fathom is a catastrophic cyclical future, where we are forced to make these changes because of what we’ve done to the planet.9 I can’t wrap my head around what this would look like if we choose it.
I know that if we made this change it would first take education. I know that switching to cyclical living as a society would change our patterns of consumption and resource management. I think this would change how we educate children, how we invest, how we build homes, how we dress ourselves and acquire clothing, and how we relate to each other. I see this shift positively affecting friendships, mental health, bodily health, and the epidemic of loneliness10 we apparently have going on.
I have questions about where all this would leave the internet and social media. (Well, not only questions—I also have opinions.) Is there really a place for social media in a cyclical world? Maybe. But it’s not any social media I’ve ever seen.11
A lot of what I’m finding is that if the world went cyclical again what we’d run into a lot of limits.
Limits of what we do, when we can do, where we do it, how we do it. Limits of what we can take, what we can use, how we use it. Limits of how much wealth we acquire, how much power we have over others.
Because that’s part of this cyclical model, and part of why we left it. Summer’s end is a limit. Anyone who has started to observe their menstrual cycle is probably only becoming more and more aware of their limits. A cycles means you are not at the zenith at all times. You fall again. You rise again. You fall.
Limits.
That may hurt, but it’s not as though our present situation is limitless. It’s just that we’re increasingly smashing right up against the limits and sacrificing things in the process. But those limits are not equally felt. The corporation is limited, but who feels that impact of meeting that maximum? The corporation or the human beings (also called workers)? Who suffers as that limit is met: that online retailer we’ve all bought from or the Amazon rainforest?
We’ve been pretending there aren’t limits but there are. The cycles usher us through these limits, which is more gently felt if we respect them. I really believe the ecosystem of the more-than-human world and each other is our support through.
But what a cyclical modern society looks like?
I just don’t know.
I think a cyclical future for society is something an individual can’t dream up alone. And that is as it should be.
I think part of what is needed for a cyclical future to flourish is cooperation, reciprocity and working for the good of all rather than the good of a few (white men).
I hope we can dream up a cyclical future together while we still have the time.
How does living in a non-cyclical world affect you as a cyclical individual? 💙
From your point of view, in your life or line of work, what would a chosen cyclical future for society look like? 🧑🌾
How can others support you, your industry or your community in getting to that future? 🤝
Another month coming up, I’ll get more into why and how this happened.
If you can think of something that doesn’t, please tell me. I can’t think of anything.
A purposefully designed feature of capitalism. More on that soon!
Which I realize is unlikely to happen unless something truly catastrophic occurs. Still, let’s be honest with ourselves: that is not totally out of the question.
Again, I know why. The answer to this I’ll get to in a month or so. The short answer, I believe, is that typical culprit: capitalism.
Is there lemon season??? As someone who’s lived in the mid Atlantic my whole life, I have no idea how citrus works. Folks from places warmer, help me out?
Which basically looks like Outlander crossed with Station Eleven, and is likely informed by having read California by Edan Lepucki when my brain was young and tender.
Except maybe perhaps very early Instagram? You know, the days when it was “instant.” But that’s a hard maybe.
“A cycle means you are not at the zenith at all times. You fall again. You rise again. You fall.” So powerful! I look at the positive of this and my cycle now- how I don’t HAVE to be zenith every day all day. But our current society (almost) demands it from us menstruating bodies- work, cook, clean, take care of everyone, repeat. There isn’t time- or actually space- for our cycles to be considered or cared for in today’s world.