Generators: On Defining Sustainability After the Sacral Response
I read something recently that sparked a big “ah-ha!” moment for me. In a recent newsletter, Christie Inge reframed the generator response in a way that really hit home, “When the sacral really LOVES something, it LOVES the whole of it – even the challenging parts. The LOVE moves the energy forward.” In speaking with clients, I often see generators who are burnt out and questioning their decision to follow a sacral response. As Christie rightly points out, the initial response can feel like excitement. It’s all fizzy fun and possibility, until shit gets real. You’ve got all the energy and momentum as you climb up to the next step and then ZAP, the slog kicks in, the momentum slows, and you’re left on the stair landing wondering if you should just pack it all up and quit. This is a frustration I am all too familiar with and it is not helped by a lot of messaging around how “you will know” the generator process “right” due to sparkles and super speed.
As Christie writes, “your sacral is responding to the world around you. Meaning, it is attuned to the world around you and looking for opportunities to create ‘new’ life. It isn’t telling you whether something is ‘right’ - it is telling you if something is sustainable and worth investing your energy into.” Attuned to work and life force energy, the sacral does a lot of heavy lifting. It’s the passion and dedication and commitment needed to see something through – even if the process of doing so is exhausting, boring, and redundant.
A Sustainable Process
As a generator, and a Cancer sun and rising, I do resonate with the idea of fostering spaces for new life. Whether that’s helping others incubate ideas for new businesses or hobbies, watching and cheering on friends at the juncture of endings and new beginnings, or more recently – and, literally – becoming a new parent, I feel most at home when I’m supporting and nurturing the blossoming of something. And a lot of the time, nurturing and supporting is either emotionally, physically, or mentally (sometimes all three) complex, hard work. The consistency of the generator process does not guarantee the path through it will be easy. I imagine that’s more the Manifestor way, finding a wormhole and being spirited forward to the end of creation. Generators are in the messy middle. Oh boy, have I waded into the mess. And here is where the concept of sustainability comes in.
What I appreciate about Christie’s message on the generator response is the emphasis on what is sustainable – because being able to discern what is sustainable AND setting up the boundaries, structure, support needed to be able to ensure sustainability is key to seeing the generator through the challenging times. In the realm of caretaking, I’ll be honest – I was shocked by the level of physical and mental energy required to sustain a small human on a day-to-day basis. Every muscle and tendon in my hands ache from holding a tiny person, a jug of water, my phone, and a variety of chew toys. I make 1000 decisions a day about what to do or what not to do in the hopes of being able to read the mind of said tiny human and minimize the bouts of crying (both hers and mine). All of that is more or less completely manageable, and even extremely joyful, on the condition that I am able to get some decent sleep at night. (Yes, I can anticipate the belly laugh coming from any parent/caretaker in the audience here.) This is something I learned the very hard way, going a stretch of too many weeks with far too little sleep because I had decided that my style of caretaking required that. This very much called into question if my decision making had factored in longevity (and/or really, sanity) into the equation because there is nothing sustainable about turning into a sleep deprived mommy zombie. A true lesson in what sustainability means.
Satisfaction in Challenges
When committing to creating and building new life, in whatever form you choose, it is imperative to remember what it means to maintain your own. For me, it meant doing the hard thing: asking for help, talking to my inner parts, getting support, and eventually getting a good night’s sleep. If the generator is the engine, it needs fuel. In order to make aligned decisions and actions, we need to understand what is needed on a personal level to be able to see the decision through.
Christie writes, “The sacral LOVES the journey of the decision; not just the idea of the decision. Because the real satisfaction -- the real love -- comes from facing challenges along the way of creating new life.”
It is a winding and deeply personal journey to determine what is right for you and what is sustainable. While there will always be myriad factors at play, depending on the situation, taking an audit of how you define sustainability and what you need to achieve it, can be a game changer for your journey. Start with your open centers and look for the areas you’re likely to be pulled toward old stories or ideas about what you “should” do or not do. Look to your definition to reinforce the consistent voices guiding your way. And above all, remember the importance of time. In the process of building, nurturing, and growing, things that feel daunting, exhausting, or challenging are often not permanent. Life is cyclical and whatever you’ve picked up and committed to is likely to change, in no small measure thanks to your effort. Whether that change feels fast or slow, there is nothing like the satisfaction of stopping to reflect just how far you’ve come and remembering that love that brought you to respond in the first place.