Advice from Luna

Blessings at the New Moon – January 21 – 2023

A lion on the Serengeti 

My dog Luna is an expert at finding places near the edges of the garden where she can merge with the background and camouflage herself. I have found her nestled in the sunchokes, hidden behind grape vines and in the raspberry patch. She makes herself almost invisible and seems a little perturbed when I find her.

Of course being hidden from view, gives her a good vantage point to watch for squirrels along the fence and garage roof. She may fancy herself a lion on the Serengeti waiting for the marauders to trespass in our yard. And she does a great job of keeping the squirrels away from the garden.

However her behavior might have nothing to do with protecting the garden at all. She may just take delight in fading into the background. Whatever her actual motivations, her behavior reminds me about intentionally stepping back to observe the world.

Following Luna’s Lead

There are many reasons to step away from the hecticness of the world. We may want to hunker down and hope for invisibility, like Luna. But we also might just need some space to engage in non-activity…to watch, observe, think, and be still.    

When we purposefully take time to step back we have the opportunity to gain insight about the world, ourselves and others. It doesn’t have to be complicated and it doesn’t have to take hours, but we do need to give ourselves permission to do it. Taking a respite from social interactions (including electronic ones) is a way to create space in our lives.

Since today is the new moon- energetically a time of quiet and introspection – it could be a perfect day to align ourselves with that energy and give ourselves the gift of stepping back. Allow time in your life to observe the world, process emotions, and daydream. All of these things can be great for our mental health.

So on this first new moon of the year, consider Luna’s advice – take some some time for yourself to step back a little. Engage with quiet and non-action. Just be. 

 

Lunar Blog Post Series

This post is part of my lunar blog series.  Each full moon I write about one of the plants featured in my book, Growing Mindful.  Each new moon I write about a topic related to gardens, mindfulness, and spirituality. For more details and a list of past lunar blog posts, click here.