At 12:13am (EST) on December 26th the moon is new again, so in the glow of all of the seasonal holidays of rebirth and renewed light (Yule, Hanukah, Christmas), it’s time for another moment of reflection.

This past cycle the focus was one of Reconciliation. When I wrote last month and announced the theme, I’d said “Reconciliation – in this context. Not actually ‘rejoining’ but more ethereal than that. A state where things fall into balance, where you realize that while the road not taken would have been awesome, and the road you chose had more than its share of bumps, you ended up exactly where you were supposed to be.” The manifestation of that this month was similar to how the band has begun to load equipment into venues – we pull everything from the cars and stack it by the front door – staged for the final step of loading everything in.… More...

First things first – yesterday was a new moon, so it’s time to examine the last cycle and see what the new one might hold. The last cycle I decided to focus on perspective. There were a lot of things swirling and pending, that could be seen as positive or not-so-positive, depending on the light in which you viewed them. Even the not-positive and hard times are there to teach up lessons – so knowing that I was being mindful of perspective really helped to navigate some tough situations. Keeping not only my needs but those of the people I interact with in mind, really helped me to see if I was showing up as the person I wanted to be.… More...

On Saturday afternoon the moon was new again; time to take stock of where I’ve been and what might be next.

The last cycle was about Presence. Through it, I tried to focus more on being in moments instead of fearing them or reacting to them without intention. I wasn’t all that great with it, to be honest. The band had a gig a couple weeks ago and I just couldn’t hold the moments – I was thrown off way too easily. Work has also been a stressor. There is continuing and abundant pressure (beyond the mere workload) – however well-intentioned – that is definitely triggering. I had a one-on-one call with my supervisor’s supervisor on Thursday and felt like, while close to the moment, I may have been a little too high strung.… More...

Another new moon greeted us on Friday morning so it’s time to see where I’ve been and where I’m headed.

The theme for the last cycle was “Elevation”. A lot of things in August were calling me to step up my game both personally and professionally. A major presentation for work could have long term ramifications on my current position, and I’m grateful that I was able to live up to my own expectations on that one. The company is going to do what they’re going to do – but to borrow a baseball analogy, I’d rather go down swinging than watch a pitch fly by. I definitely put the ball in play, so we’ll see how the fielders do.

I realized I needed to think a little bit bigger personally too.… More...