Reflections at the December Full Moon

The December full moon that falls today deserves attention in her own right, but she is overshadowed, not dimmed, by the imminence of the Solstice, the closeness of Christmas and the waning of the year. Even my work reflects the coming changes: I have three more days of scheduled appointments before I stop and there is a sense of endings but not yet beginnings as genuine wishes for Christmas and the new year are exchanged as farewells, unspoken wonderings as to what will have happened, how will it be, this time next year. More than ever before, life is an adventure with change and surprise everywhere as time accelerates and the mysteries of space begin to touch us, all of us: nothing can be taken for granted. There is a sense of unreality as I watch the usual, traditional, preparations for the holidays – the spending and decorating, the constant advertising for food and drink and perfume, the Christmas TV schedules, and somewhere in the midst of it all, a religious remembering and celebration. Secluded as I am in my Welsh mountains, I am more protected than others from tinny carols and bad-tempered crowded shoppers, for apart from some gentle decorations life goes on as usual in this remote place where time stopped fifty years ago, and every year I give thanks for it. Today’s full moon at this time of near-completion has made me reflective, remembering other Decembers shared with friends and family, dogs and cats, weather and nature. A chance post on Twitter this morning about the magnificence of red kites reminded me of my good fortune to live in their stronghold and to have them as an important part of my daily life, constantly soaring overhead, sometimes as many as twenty at a time, and perhaps descending for food in bad weather. [caption id="attachment_2273" align="alignright" width="150"] Red Kite[/caption] Three years ago, in a harsh and early winter when snow lay knee deep for weeks, a juvenile kite, tagged and so identifiable, came to an old stump where I had put out some ham fat for the birds, and stopped to feed for long enough for me to take some photographs: it was Christmas Day, and her presence was the best Christmas gift for me, and the memory was the most special of all my reflections, today. As you prepare to complete what is necessary for the next several days, do not forget the full moon that lights the way for what is to come; ask her to make your life unhurried and easy, whatever demands there may be on you to cook and shop and wrap and travel, and she will help. And then we will have the Solstice…..and on that – more anon.   (A new guided meditation recorded by me for this Solstice can be heard here.)   [byline]  ]]>