Sometimes the simplest solution is the one right in front of us.

There is something magical about the Moon. In a world of chaos and too much to do, the Moon just does its thing. As it is circumnavigating the Earth, we see the Sun’s light reflected off of it and it looks like it’s changing. I would hazard that we all know this, but I’m not as sure about that as I once was. The Moon and its phases are how I keep to a plan.

I was a huge fan of wall calendars in the 1970s. During my military service those desktop-sized paper pads with printed calendars were my best friend. But with my increasing use of computers, I relied more and more upon digital methods. I even made my own calendar with COBOL, just because I could. The smart phone seemed to bridge the gaps between what I used to plan my day at work and what I needed when I was away from my computer. None of these really addressed working with longer plans in a straightforward manner. That is where the moon comes in.

Every new moon phase I set my intentions for the cycle. These are not just wishes, but wishes are fine to add in because wishes can often be a starting point for goals. Intentions are things I plan to pursue. Some of my intentions are very specific such as, get all my annual tax stuff together and ready to file. Some intentions are within the realm of personal work/growth. These can range from paying attention that I get enough nutritious food to spending some time working on the grief that still blocks me from finishing sorting my mother’s stuff. I have a couple running intentions that don’t really have an end date but are reminders to keep progressing, such as better living conditions. That’s a nice vague one that reminds me to do what I can and always be looking for help and ideas. I have yet to reach a place in my life where I could say that I had arrived at the pinnacle of good living. So it’s my way of lodging an official request to the universe instead of complaining to myself.

Intentions can be written down, or not, by choice. It’s always about what works best for you. When I’m setting specific intentions like setting up for taxes I tend to write those down. The other types of intentions were already in my heart before I set them out and I don’t write those down. One of the keys for me on intentions is to not set myself up for failure. Don’t schedule the impossible for next Tuesday. Don’t set so many intentions that it becomes an additional pressure, and don’t criticize yourself if you didn’t manage to reach them by the full moon.

The full moon is the other half of my timing. As the moon reaches its halfway point and begins to wax towards full, it’s the time to begin finalizing and wrapping up whatever intentions I set at the new moon. If I’m behind on something, this is the time to get it together so it will be finished. If I found that it was something that needed a side quest to complete, I’ll note that and make the side quest part of the next set of intentions if I can’t work on it as the full moon wanes. Once the full moon arrives, it’s time to assess what I have completed. If earned, I can give myself a pat on the back. It’s also time to adjust my perspective and make sure I am giving credit where credit is due, saying thank yous and expressing my gratitude. The cycle starts once again as I use the waning moon to help me look forward to what intentions I wish to set for the next month. The period of the waning moon is my monthly equivalent of browsing through the seed catalogs midwinter.

The next Full Moon is 9 August, 2025.

I’m not going to make it on one of my goals but that’s okay. I made it on 4 out of 5. Now the full moon is also really helpful to use as a reminder that some things need to be let go. I rarely have more than one thing I am letting go at the full moon. When I have let go of something it has never come back. The things we can choose to let go are the things we are hanging onto. If I try to let go of people being mean over politics, that’s not mine to let go of. Instead if I choose to let go of getting upset because people are mean over politics, that has a much better chance of going away. I’m not as strong in my ownership of my feelings about people being mean, over politics, as I need to be to let that one go just yet.

So, what am I letting go on the 9th? I’m not sure yet, but I have a couple days.