Good morning, everyone ~
Five days until the next full moon. “Harvest Moon” — and one of the biggest/brightest full moons of the year. Predicted to appear in fullness 2-3 days before its official girth. By the way the cats in this house and the wildlife outside it are acting, I think the monthly full-moon effect is upon us already. Restless, wakefulness, alertness — as if anticipating Something.
Full moons are fascinating things! They affect our ‘inner tides’ of hormones in much the same way they affect the ocean’s tides/waves. A woman’s menstrual cycle is set in time with the full moon (unless she uses birth control). Post-menopausal women remain affected, for we still have hormones; just not that specific one. Change the chemistry and behavior changes with it.
My mother sometimes felt the need to “take a moon-light walk”. I remember one particular Summer-moon walk. The moon was almost as bright as sunlight. Except for the deepest forested parts of our walk, we could clearly see our way.
The walk took us past a neighbor’s farm — silent/dark. We could smell the farmyard odors of cows, pigs, chickens — all of them tucked up in their shelters for the night. Mom and I walked quietly by, marveling to ourselves at the clear sky overhead and how moonlight sparkled on the macadam road’s uneven surface.
Along the edge of the farm, tall pine trees lined the boundary of the farmer’s land, dark against the paler sky. One shadowy tree looked like a giraffe. Another looked like a bear dangling from a giant pole. The more I looked, the more wild, giant animals I could imagine along that boundary line. My mind wandered into telling myself a story … about giant animals roaming the woods at night … and us humans being nothing more than a quick snack for them.
It was at that point in my story that one of the farmer’s cows decided to announce herself. “Mmmooooh!” she cried … and I squealed a little-girl squeal! The cow’s timing fit perfectly into the “quick snack” part of the story unfolding in my head. Mom laughed, of course. Which hurt my feelings, until I realized that she had no way of knowing that my mind had left the macadam road and entered an invisible world of fantasy.
It’s a brain-file memory that pops open whenever there is an especially large full moon. And when I see or hear cows. One that makes me smile, shake my head, and laugh at that little girl with her wild-animal imagination.
Now, I’m an old woman whose chronic pain prevents me from doing a lot of things. A recent back injury has further limited my abilities. And then, COVID-19 arrived, changing the world forever. How fortunate I am, however, to have so many brain-file memories of how I used to be and the things I loved doing. And I have done a wide variety of things in my 67 years. I never became an expert at anything, but I did discover that I could become good at doing some things. I like that — discovering what I’m good at!
These days, I’m good at finding new ways to use my grab-stick to get home chores done. Not as rewarding as a lot of other things; yet, I give myself an “atta-girl” with each new discovery. Just like the constant ebb-n-flow of tides/moon-driven hormones, the only constant in Life is CHANGE. We do ourselves a kindness when we adjust our mind to that reality. If we don’t, who knows what shadowy monster will climb down out of the trees to snack us up?
LAST WEEK’S NEURON-STETCHING CHALLENGE:Who said: “All war is based on deception.”
Sun Tzu, in his epic journal: “The Art of War”. Only one person rose to this challenge. Congratulations!
THIS WEEK’S NEURON-STRETCHING CHALLENGE:
Who wrote: “… We grow and thrive when we are brave enough to stand in the center of our own pain and listen to what it is trying to communicate.”
Pop open a few happy brain-file memories today. What path will you follow in the process? Where will the tides of Life take you? How long will you travel before you catch yourself smiling?
Stay curious. Stay kind. Stay “brave enough”.
Gentle hugs/much love,
Marian