The Rhythm We Forgot: Expansion, Contraction, and the Intelligence Within Us
- Bill Dandie
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Everything that exists moves in a rhythm.
The universe expands. It contracts. Galaxies stretch outward, stars collapse inward, and balance is maintained not by force, but by timing. When expansion happens too fast, systems destabilize. When contraction becomes extreme, collapse follows. Creation depends on the dance between the two.
So does our life.
Our personal journey mirrors the universe in this way. We expand through growth, insight, love, and expression. We contract through rest, reflection, grief, and inward focus. Neither is wrong. Neither is superior. Problems arise only when we lose the rhythm.
Growth rushed becomes fragmentation.
Stillness prolonged becomes stagnation.
Where our journey differs from the universe is in what drives the movement. The cosmos follows physical laws beyond choice. Our expansions and contractions are shaped by emotion, thought, and perspective. A belief can accelerate us forward. An unprocessed emotion can pull us inward suddenly. Fear contracts us faster than gravity; clarity expands us beyond what we thought possible.
And yet—this rhythm is not something we need to learn.
We already know it.
The ancient programming lives within us.
It is in the breath, moving in and out without instruction.
It is in the heart, opening and releasing in perfect cadence.
It is in the flow between receiving and giving, acting and resting, speaking and listening.
Long before philosophies, religions, or self-help systems, the body knew the way. Life encoded balance directly into us. The mistake was not forgetting the truth—it was forgetting to listen.
When we expand without integration—chasing insight without grounding—we scatter our energy. When we contract out of resistance—turning inward without trust—we harden. In both cases, imbalance doesn’t lead to transformation; it leads to breakdown.
The work of being human is not constant growth, nor endless healing. It is remembering the rhythm.
To expand with awareness.
To contract with purpose.
To allow each phase to nourish the other.
Unlike the universe, we are not locked into a single trajectory. We are conscious participants in the cycle. By tending to our emotions, refining our thoughts, and gently shifting perspective, we don’t fight the rhythm—we align with it.
When we return to the breath.
When we listen to the heart.
When we honor both movement and stillness.
We don’t collapse.
We come back into balance.
And in that balance, life flows again.
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