So the moon entered its latest full moon stage last night (November 19; I’m a day or so behind in my writings). This means that there are only ten days left in November, and forty-one days left in 2021. Hopefully 2022 will be a slightly mellower than 2021 has been.

Since we’re into fall (or early winter), I will hopefully be getting a walk in this weekend—but remembering all camera gear, that way if I need the longer lens for the ducks in the middle of the lake, I’ll have them.

In terms of some self-reflection during this time, there are some questions one can ask themselves (taken from “Moonology: working with the magic of the lunar cycles” by Yasmin Boland), and they are:

Have I been lazy or overly self-indulgent this month?

Have I been too obsessed with money or status symbols?

Have I been stubborn, jealous, or possessive?

Have I been doing too much comfort eating?

Have I done enough exercise?

I were to number the above questions 1-5, my answers would be:

  1. Yes, I have been slightly lazy and self indulgent this month, so far. I need to get back into a fitness routine, which means having the dogs and cats out of the room by no later than quarter after eight so I can do a twenty to thirty minute workout. I also need to quit spending money on the silly game I’ve been playing for the past couple of weeks as well. November is shaping up like March in terms of splurging.
  2. Looking back at last year’s answer: I’ve never really been one for status symbols. I’m not obsessed with money—though I’m now really thinking more on the direction(s) for my transition, since I’ve managed to run through a good amount of my savings during the past two years.
  3. Any and everyone would tell you that I’m stubborn. I freely admit to being stubborn—I think it is the one thing that got me through grad school (and all four positions afterwards as well). Last year I mentioned how I was only slightly jealous of countries that were handling the pandemic decently—and those are the ones I’m still slightly jealous of. The only thing I’m becoming slightly possessive over is my ‘me time’ or my quiet time—time where I’m really not having to deal with other people, and its one of the reasons I’m really leaning in the remote/contract/freelance direction—I can have my waking up time in the mornings.
  4. This is a yes/no question. No, in the sense I don’t like the phrase ‘comfort eating’. Food is meant to comfort and fuel us–calling it ‘comfort food’ can have a ‘negative’ feel to those who are trying to heal their relationship with food. Yes, in the sense that I’m eating foods that ‘comfort’ me–some may have a little more nutritional value than others.
  5. We finally got our Wi-Fi problem corrected. This means that I should be able to stream workouts, without there being constant buffering. I will probably start my second round of morning meltdown 100 on Monday.

Then I should also look to see what house it is passing through as well—and for me, Taurus passes through my seventh house—or my “love zone”. This is the time that we spend a little energy on other people, instead of making everything about ourselves.

For me, currently there are no romantic relationships (I’m still trying to get my life in some semblance of order), I’m still not working, therefore that means focusing on other relationships—(family, and friends).

In terms of trying to spend time with friends—we’re still in the middle of a pandemic and therefore it isn’t safe to really get together with anyone outside of family. In terms of family—it isn’t safe to try to visit anyone who is living out of state—that means I’m usually just around my parents (and my younger brother since he moved back to town).

This has been another weird year (we’re still in the grasp of the pandemic, even though vaccines are available for everyone over the age of five; we have competent people in the White House, but the world is still tumbling in a downwards spiral), and I acknowledge that I’m still trying to do the best that I can—even if it looks like I’m moving backwards in some areas.

So if I were to pick a couple of things to work on during the Taurus full moon period they would be:

  1. Start another round of Morning Meltdown 100
  2. Continue mending my relationship with food (start eating yogurt/fruits/nuts again for breakfast at least two days a week)
  3. Continue working on updating the blog/website to focus on the slight ‘swerve’ towards adding in more science/edical, health/wellness, and personal/professional development writing pieces
  4. Work on updating my LinkedIn profile to showcase my interest in moving towards more of a writing career (key words, companies to follow, and building up my network in those areas)
  5. Get back into a nightly meditation routine

In order to try to finish 2021 on the ‘right’ note—there is quite a bit of computer work to be done, and I know that if I start again with fitness (and getting in more protein), I will be able to get my anxiety and stress under control.

How have you been managing your stress and/or anxiety over the past year and a half?