More than a band: Earth, Wind and Fire

Using the Element in Career Clarity; Plus Spirit and Water, too.

Napping outdoors, an hour under shade, on a porch on the bay, brought the perfect combination of earth, air, water, spirit and fire. The air swirled around my skin, lifting my cover up, my beach towel flapping during annual nap of the summer season. The air was thick, a hurricane approaching, the heat defending itself. Wind woke me up, salty air creating cool chills on my legs. Waking up without an alarm but instead, a natural element, is a vacation luxury. Recognizing my afternoon changed with the winds of hurricane Debby, shortening my umbrella-shaded nap, I realized that different elements guide our our careers, some elements than others.

Often dismissed in our modern culture, the energy moving with the natural elements, Earth, Air, Water, Spirit and Fire connect the dots as throughput in my career decisions. 

How can The Elements Open Up Your Intuition for Professional Clarity?

Sue Longo, Owner of Element 50 in Fairfield, CT, named her store after the Elements. Element 50’s website is organized by the elements and a mineral-filled element table hangs behind the counter in her downtown Fairfield location. I interviewed Sue in the heat of summer to find out what Earth, Air, Water, Spirit and Fire perfect combinations are in your mid-career. Her answer might shock you, as it did for me initially. It’s often less about what Elements you notice but instead about what Element you are void of, blocking authenticity.

How can someone tap into the elements for their life purpose?

Sue: “Accessing the Elements in your life is part of the balancing act. Often their definitions are taken for granted. Earth is all the grounding activities, what roots you. Fire is all of the momentum and activities, passion. Water not only is it being near a body of water but it's also processing emotions. Air is your truth, your voice, your thoughts, your BREATH. Spirit is connection to your higher self and source.”

Are you drawn to one element over the other? I often miss air and earth, especially in winter months.

How can those definitions help women in mid-career pivot points find clarity when they might be contemplating a totally different career path?

Sue: “When anyone is out of balance it's likely because they're ignoring one or more elemental energies in their daily life. “

Ignoring is the void we feel as emptiness, shame, guilt or stuckness.

Can you share how opening a store with the word Element in it that might help other women who are about to make a change, big or small?

Sue shared, “For me, when I opened the store, I turned down my fire for a bigger connection to spirit. [Fire in the form of physical movement, like dance or working out] and I can give you 50 reasons why I stopped movement all together but they are just excuses.  And I recognize this...and am finally making small steps to change that.  But I wasted a lot of time ignoring, denying, avoiding my own fire and movement of my physical body.”

Ignoring is when clarity breaks down and the ‘I’ll do it later’ hits women over 40 square in the face.

Can recognizing that being off balance or void of an Element and taking steps to rectify that create new opportunities in a career path?

Sue: “Yes. Balancing grounding, heat, releasing emotions and having a voice helps in partnering, parenting, human’ing, so by extension, career purpose and longevity.

Four elements can be the lever you need to remind me that I have the answers within and the support of air, earth, water, spirit and fire to take the next steps. 

Tips for using the Elements as a toolkit to see where you are off balance:

1- What are you drawn to instinctively? Follow that thread to learn more about where you might be missing an element. I’m a water gal but recently have been noticing the air around me shifting my senses.  

2- What are you ignoring or denying in your purpose? Action–missing fire elements; Too quiet or soft spoken- add airy elements to your day; Stagnant or holding in emotions, have a good cry to add water, bonus points if you have a release while bathing; Feeling unsettled in your career or home life, ground into the earth with a walk in nature.

3- Toolkits are available to support getting back into balance.  Elements can be found in books, crystals and minerals, taking a workout class, or add more of an Element to your home and in your diet. Take a log of what Elements are feeding your soul. Sue consults in person or via Zoom/Facetime on how to add the Elements to your routine and home that supports you through the science of crystals. 

4- Keep doing what you love. If cooking is your passion, create a meal using the Elements. If you love a yoga flow, get on your mat and move to an Element balancing flow, if you love to reset by driving, put on an spotify Elements playlist.   Carry a crystal that embodies the Element you need around you the most. Make the balancing act your own.

At any stage or roadblock, you might have different Elements you need to lean on. Calling in what is missing will help you move towards clarity