You Will Know Them by Their Cycles

There’s a saying in scripture: “You will know them by their fruits.” It speaks to the idea that a person’s actions—the results of their choices, their character, their habits—reveal who they truly are. But consider extending this idea further: You will also know them by their cycles.

A person’s life is not just the sum of isolated actions or singular events. It is a tapestry of patterns, rhythms, and repetitions. What someone spends their time doing, day after day, year after year, is a clearer reflection of their values than any proclamation they make. Cycles reveal essence. They show not only what we value but what we refuse to confront, what we prioritize, and where we direct the finite energy of our lives.

The Cycles of a Modern Life

When you step back, you can see how our lives begin in cycles handed to us by society arranged into paths. The path I followed looked something like this:

1. Kindergarten.
2. Primary school.
3. High school.
4. University.
5. Career.

These cycles carry a sense of inevitability, as though there is no other way to live. Each phase flows into the next, and we rarely stop to ask why we’re moving forward. We simply follow. The end goal is often framed as achieving financial stability, career success, or some vague notion of “making it.”

But what happens when those goals are achieved? What happens when you start reaching the diminishing returns of material success? For many, this is a turning point—a moment of reckoning.

At this juncture, people often redirect their focus, seeking meaning in other areas:

• Connections
• Hobbies
• Religion
• Vice
• Business

These pursuits seem promising at first. They fill the gap left by the monotony of a career cycle that no longer excites. But often, they too reveal themselves as hollow traps, new forms of repetition and distraction. Hobbies that once thrilled can feel stale. Connections that once felt transformative may settle into routine. Even religion, if approached superficially, can feel like just another system to navigate.

And so, the patterns persist, even as dissatisfaction grows. Days blend together, and the energy that once propelled us forward dissipates. This leads to the inevitable question:

What do you do when none of this feels satisfying anymore?

Recognizing the Cycle of Dissatisfaction

Reaching this point can feel like hitting a wall. None of the external pursuits—no vice, no hobby, no connection—seems to quench the hunger within. Comfort itself can become a kind of prison. The cycles we rely on for stability begin to feel like stagnation.

The profound nothingness that surfaces when all distractions are stripped away is unsettling. It’s not comforting. It’s not peaceful. It’s alien. It’s the raw essence of existence: a symphony of sensation without story, a void of meaning where the ego and its justifications dissolve. This is not a place to live. It’s a place to visit, to glimpse the truth, and then return to the world of form.

So what then? What do you do when the cycles of distraction have failed, and the void offers no solace?

Leaning Into the Cycles That Flow

In the midst of this existential wrestling, there is a glimmer of something real: flow. You’ve likely experienced it when fully immersed in an activity you love—when time disappears, and the ego takes a backseat. These moments of wu-wei—”doing not doing”—are the antidote to the emptiness. They’re not about escaping or filling a void but about fully engaging with something tangible, something immediate.

When I lift weights, I’m not just a body moving through space; I am the breath, the motion, the resistance. When I write, I am not merely typing words; I am the rhythm, the unfolding of something greater than myself. These acts dissolve the ego—not by erasing it but by aligning it with flow.

The beauty of these moments is that they don’t require justification. I don’t lift weights to prove something to the world. I don’t write to accumulate accolades. I do these things because they are their own reward. They are expressions of being, as close to pure action as I can get.

You Will Know Them by Their Cycles

A person’s cycles are their truest mirror. They reveal:

• What they do: What actions define their days and weeks? What pursuits consistently draw their attention?
• What they refuse to do: Where do they set boundaries? What opportunities or challenges do they avoid, and why?
• What they’re obsessed about: What consumes their thoughts, energy, and focus? Is it constructive or destructive?
• Where they are weak: What areas of life do they struggle to engage with? Do they acknowledge these weaknesses or deny them?
• Where they are strong: What strengths have they cultivated, and how do they use them?
• What they have an abundance of: What flows naturally to them? Time, money, peace, wisdom? How do they use this abundance?
• What they lack: What’s missing in their life? Is it intentional, or is it something they avoid addressing?

To examine your own cycles is to hold a mirror up to your soul. What do your patterns say about you? Are they cycles of creation, growth, and engagement? Or are they cycles of avoidance, distraction, and decay?

The Ego as Servant, Not Master

Ego plays a critical role in shaping cycles. It drives us to accumulate, to consume, to justify our existence through stories of success and survival. And while some of this is necessary—a person needs a story to navigate the world—it must not dominate. Ego is a tool, not the architect of your life.

The realization of being “animated dust,” created by God, or simply a finite being in an infinite universe, is not meant to crush you. It’s meant to free you. It strips away the need to prove your worth and allows you to engage in cycles that align with your higher self. The story you tell yourself doesn’t have to be about survival or accumulation. It can be about creation, service, and alignment with truth.

Building Cycles That Reflect Who You Want to Be

If your current cycles aren’t serving you, it’s within your power to change them. You can create intentional patterns that align with your deepest values:

1. Cycles of Creation: Write, build, teach, craft something that outlasts you.
2. Cycles of Service: Shift the focus outward. How can you use your strengths to help others?
3. Cycles of Exploration: Learn, experiment, and dive into new areas of curiosity.
4. Cycles of Stillness: Embrace moments of quiet and reflection. Let the void guide you, not consume you.

The key is not to escape cycles but to shape them—to choose patterns that nurture your soul rather than drain it.

The Story Your Cycles Tell

At the end of the day, your cycles are the story you tell the world about what you value. They reveal not just who you are but who you are becoming. So ask yourself:

• Are your cycles leading you closer to the person you want to be?
• Are they creating something meaningful, or are they merely passing the time?
• What’s one small change you can make today to align your cycles with your higher self?

You will know them by their fruits, but also, you will know them by their cycles. What story are your cycles telling? And what story do you want them to tell?