Full Moon, Rising Sun

Dawn is breaking over the city as the Long Night Moon slides toward the western horizon. Some people call this the Winter Moon. The solstice suggests to me the Wolf Moon. Whatever you call it, this moon grows as it descends.

I am up early on this Moonday, the first day of my work week, after dropping a friend at the airport for a red-eye.

Now I have a few hours before work to just witness the birth of a day. Part of me shines this time of day. Stars are not the only things that emerge when it is dark.

Ridge lines in the east are still sharp and black against the orange backdrop that lightens by the minute. Stars retreat as the light rises. It's cold and clear, three days from the Solstice. Lights are sharp in the crisp air. Traffic is picking up. The day is getting under way.

I wish I could stop time. I love this moment when night and day trade places. It signals potential, immanence.

My fellow humans are beginning to stir and will soon be racing around on their chosen or not so chosen errands.

As I drive into the heart of the hive, the sky lightens and there are lines forming at the intersections. It's getting busy. Really busy. It is Christmas time after all, and it's time to shop, time to get ready for the days off.

Another week begins, and I will have to turn my mind to the work and words of others. I am a worker bee, a householder, and I give my time in exchange for a livelihood.

I feel pulled and buffeted by the coming intensity.

It extracts me from my reverie, and not in a good way.

The river of activity tugs at me, and it takes some effort not to be carried away in the frenzy and hurry.

With some intention, I hope to find a different way to do the day.I want to live it remembering who it is I am when I am not trying to fit in to what others want me to be, do what others want me to do.

Learning that I can do this is new. Learning how to do it is a challenge. I see how rare it is to act with integrity, to stay happy with actions.

So as the night turns to day, I want to remember what it is that I want to do today, how it is that I want to live, to hold heart, mind, and spirit together as work takes its pound of flesh.

This is my work. It helps to say it, again and again, to remember what it is that my life is about. I thank the darkness and quiet for insight, the day for the challenge to put it into action.