Once in a Blue Moon :: thoughts on the eve of new year

Blank pages, empty squares. Waiting with anticipation for all that will fill our days. We pull down from the wall the record of what we've done, where we've been. Days crossed, notches on our belts and lines marked on the wall.

One day at a time.

I prefer to keep a short view, a close look. Intentional myopia, keeping the big picture in my peripheral vision. I like to take life one day at a time. I don't miss as much this way.

It's a new outlook for me. I used to thrive on planning, scheduling, finding ways to mark the passing of time. I'd divide and devise, rationing the year into months, quarters, seasons. There was a semblance of security and control to knowing what was coming, to planning ahead; blocking off dates for trips and marking milestones on the horizon.

But time passes so much more quickly that way, when I looked ahead, anticipating the next season or stage. And I didn't want to wish it all away - spending the now preparing for the later.

I've made no secret about my shift in outlook. I rarely look at the calendar these days, instead taking each day as it comes. I like it this way.

About a year ago, I decided to let time pass at its true pace. Like I've said before, I want to let each minute last sixty seconds. I don't want to cheat the hour out of it's moments, to rush the days away. It's been a year of mindfulness, and it's no coincidence that I've enjoyed it as one of my best years yet.

Tonight marks the eve of a new year, and we have the rare chance to ring in twentyten with a blue moon. The second full moon of the month doesn't come around too often, and that it falls on New Years Eve seems to me a good omen for the coming year, the decade even. Tonight the full moon will cast it's glow, wherever we may be, and let us see a little more clearly at a time that's usually dark.

Maybe twentyten will be our year for clarity.

This blue moon will shine it's goodbyes to 2009 and greet 2010 with a bright full face, shedding some light on our paths and brightening our vision as we look back at our tracks in the snow, the footprints left in our wake; and ahead to the open road, the fresh trail where we have the chance to start off with hope and resolve.

Once in a blue moon. Don't miss it, don't let it pass by unacknowledged.

At some point tonight, whether you're at a packed-full party or home tucking little ones into bed, step out. Step away from the chaos or the calm. Bundle up, head outside and turn your gaze toward that rare blue moon.

Say goodbye to this last year and let go of regrets for what you did or didn't do. Because the earth is going to keep on turning, and regret can't slow things down or change the trajectory of your path.

Offer up a little prayer or a wish for clarity in this year to come, for a guiding light to shine on your path like that full moon on this cold, December night.

I know I will.

photo credit here

Happy New Year!

I only started blogging in late April, but here are some of my favorites from the second half of 2009.

Top 10 from '09

For Better or Worse (May)

I Should Have Known (June)

Raindrops (August)

Gratitude (September, reposted at Happy Bambino's Blog in October)

Growth (September)

Aftertaste (September)

fall(ing) (October)

Silhouettes (November)

Hope (December)

Drive (December)