Rooted in Rhythm

Last month in our corner of Minnesota, a summer-long humid heatwave relented overnight into a week of crisp, 60-degree highs and 40-degree lows. A week later, the heat returned with a vengeance, and over the past few weeks, this back-and-forth has kept us guessing. Ever-changing Midwest weather isn’t predictable, but its unpredictability is expected—and if we’re paying attention, we can learn to prepare for it.

Here at the Conference & Retreat Center, it means pivoting daily between air conditioning and heating, sometimes several times a day. We laugh about it, but there’s a quiet wisdom in that rhythm of adjustment. The spiritual life works similarly. It invites us to prepare for the changes we can see coming, and to stay grounded when the unpredictable arrives.

Change has a way of catching us off guard. And yet, even in the unknown, there are ways to ready ourselves to meet whatever comes. Baseball players train to hit curveballs. Minnesotans wear layers in October. Schools run tornado drills. Camp counselors get CPR-certified.

So what are the spiritual equivalents of those practices? What helps us remain steady, present, and at ease amid life’s surprises? I can’t predict the next time a minivan will cut me off in rush hour traffic, but I can practice equanimity so that when it happens my focus is on avoiding an accident rather than on trying to simmer my boiling rage. I don’t know when an instagram post will trigger insecurity, irritation, or disbelief, but I do know how to create positive patterns that encourage self love. I can’t know when I’ll next feel grief or heartbreak, but I can cultivate rhythms that strengthen me to meet those moments with grace.

An ancient, contemplative tool for this is a Rule of Life. A Rule of Life is a set of practices that helps us stay present to our deepest values and aligned with the current of Love. The Desert Mothers and Fathers envisioned a Rule not as a rigid set of laws, but as something to measure one’s life against—like a ruler, or perhaps like a trellis that gives shape to an ever-growing vine.

For some, a Rule of Life includes specific daily or weekly rituals: morning prayer, Sabbath rest, time in nature, shared meals, or intentional silence. For others, it’s a living document of intentions, values, and vision—a reminder of who we are and who we are becoming. Whether structured or fluid, a Rule helps us return again and again to what matters most. What do you need, more structure or more vibe?

In jazz, there’s a musical term for this kind of steady foundation: the ostinato—a repeating melodic or rhythmic phrase that undergirds improvisation. It’s the thread that holds the music together, allowing a musician to explore, adapt, and respond freely without losing their center.

Consider the values at the core of who you are today and who you want to become tomorrow. What is the ostinato in your life, the rhythm that guides your riffs? Once you can identify this, you can begin to name the practices that will help you stay in tune with that rhythm, even when life’s tempo changes unexpectedly.

As the seasons shift
and surprises come,
may your heart’s ostinato be the quiet rhythm beneath it all
guiding you back,
again and again and again,
to the current
of Love.