The New Moon taken with my iPhone in Easley, SC
The new moon symbolizes new beginnings, introspection, and setting intentions. It’s a chance every month or so for a fresh start in our hearts.
I want to believe in the new moon. I want to have faith that fresh starts are real and not something we just pine for when things get tough.
But if I am being honest I wonder if a new moon is really all that “new.” Maybe its a re-newing of sorts. NEW to me means pristine… untouched. But life as we are living it really travels in cycles, building upon itself at each juncture. There is nothing untouched about this life of mine.
Sometimes I wish on the new moon that I could throw it all away for a fresh start. I want to bury all my woes, hide from all my mistakes, have the magic wand of forgiveness waved over my head so all can be forgiven and forgotten, knowing I am humbled by all of it - bad decisions and troubles alike.
The world doesn’t work like that though. We have to carry those things along with us as part of a learned past…as part of a better intentioned future. It’s all a necessary part of who we are and who we get to become along the way.
These days I think of milestones like the new moon, the new year, birthdays, anniversaries, springtime, and even the daily sunrise all as opportunities for pause. They are moments for us to reflect into who we are and where we have been on our journey of life - be it the daily pause or more.
Certainly the sun and the moon don’t wish to be floating around out there as only a part of itself. They want to show up each day as they are…not justthe parts they are casting light on.
Maybe that’s my wish for each new moon…to carry with me who I am while giving myself the grace to carry on bravely despite all the parts i wish I had addressed a little better. Perhaps it’s about a renewal and not just being new.
