Lessons from the Moon in a Time of Uncertainty

The moon, our sun in the night, has a lot to say about COVID-19, your job, and life during a time of uncertainty.

• Clarity- During the pandemic, you may have noticed that your skies are clearer at night. Well, it’s true. We are driving and polluting less. Because of this, our sky is closer to us than ever before. Here, in Orlando, this rings true. Fireworks gracing the skyline nightly have cased, and traffic is notably manageable. More importantly, this demonstrates how the pandemic has offered clarity in some ways. As you walk your dog with newfound time because of furlough or worry about how you are going to pay your bills because of layoffs, look to the skies. See things you may have been missing and make sure you still consider yourself on the right track. Are you healthy? Do you see family enough? Do you enjoy your work? The most important question: What can you change to make your life better?

As you walk your dog with newfound time because of furlough or worry about how you are going to pay your bills because of layoffs, look to the skies. See things you may have been missing and make sure you still consider yourself on the right track.

• Work Ethic- The moon shines most nights, in fact, by my calculation-disregarding weather conditions- it is visible to you about 92% of nights. Taking 30ish days to itself throughout the year. The moon is a hard worker, never calls in sick, and it all goes unnoticed, remaining underappreciated. I think we all have felt this way from time to time. But- Imagine for a moment, the moon stops shining unexpectedly because it felt unappreciated. Would we notice? Would we care? – Yes. The lesson here is, humans focus on what is changing, and we naturally “take for granted” things that we expect to simply ‘happen’. You do it too- there is someone or something in your life right now you are neglecting to appreciate. It’s harmless. Just know the world usually notices when you stop, which means that somewhere deep down, they rely on and appreciate what you do every day. So just keep doing it, and find intrinsic motivations for doing so.

• Going through Phases and Change- The moon operates in phases, 8 phases total. It is constantly cycling through all the forms of itself, keeping itself happy and relevant, delivering something that seems new every night. We do this in our own lives in some ways, and we need to do this more in other ways. If you’re anything like me, I tend to get involved with something, overuse it-obsessively- for a few weeks, and then I move on. This is not always the most fiscally responsible habit to have, but it keeps my mind working and fresh. In a lot of ways, I genuinely enjoy my time when I’m on a ‘kick’. I call it my hobby of hobbies. So that is one way you can bring yourself joy- another way is in your professional life. We all know someone who suffers from ‘burnout’ professionally. This is avoidable and relates to the next lesson of change. Keep yourself relevant, change your pace, develop new habits. If you find yourself counting down the days to retirement (or even the weekend), it may be time to take on a new project within your company or change jobs. Seek out positive changes.
• Perspective- The moon looks different from everywhere around the world. It is so important to realize that as we participate in our society—society: somewhere where we all live together. We need to have empathy for our neighbors. Especially during this time of uncertainty. Allow the car to get over when they made a mistake driving, and their lane runs out. Offer to help your neighbor. Go ahead and take the quarter from the lady who wants to take your cart at Aldi (you can feverishly hand sanitize it later). This pandemic has brought us social distancing and face coverings at a time when expression and kindness is most needed. As technology takes hold of our lives more and more every day, a complaint noted by many before the pandemic, we lose the face to face interaction that is so important for society. The pandemic is only exacerbating this problem as we rely heavily on video calls and other fake interactions. Now you cannot see me smile through my mask when I walk by. I’m supposed to stay 6 feet away, a thought that would be strange before the pandemic. The moon’s advice? Use your voice, say hi, wave, and make sure you are perceived just as friendly as you were before the pandemic. Just because we look different now, doesn’t mean we should act differently. This is a necessary adaptation. Keep yourself safe, and keep our society kind.

Just because we look different now, doesn’t mean we should act differently.

If you don’t know, just ask the moon.