“Darling, the moon is still the moon in all of it’s phases.” – Isra al-thibeh, on becoming

Have you ever looked up at the moon at night and scorned it for being just a thin waning
crescent moon instead of a full moon?
No, of course not. That’s the phase the moon is in at the moment and soon enough, it will be a full moon again.
The same goes for the trees. In winter, do you go up to a tree and plead and beg with it to start bearing leaves and flowers and fruit?
No, at least I hope not! It’s winter so the tree isn’t meant to be bearing leaves. It’s meant to be slowing down so that it’s ready for spring and all the new growth. But no one is ever worried when they see a tree without leaves in the winter, nor is anyone troubled when they see that the moon is just a tiny sliver in the sky.

And yet, when we’re not achieving just as much as we did this time last week, month, year and when we feel like we’re not doing as well as we used to be doing or we’re being too slow and not making enough outward progress and growth, then we get agitated or anxious or frustrated and unsettled.

And we somehow manage to forget that our worth isn’t tied to our productivity. And how much we’re achieving does not reflect how well we’re doing. And just because we’re not growing as much outwardly doesn’t mean we’re doing something wrong.

Just like the moon we go through phases. And that’s right and that’s natural and we have to learn to be ok with that. To be more than ok, we have to learn to embrace it. Each new season and phase of our life has a beauty and purpose which wasn’t present or existent in the old season.
We can’t look back at where we were or how we felt this time last week, month, year and compare it with now. If you compare a blossom tree in winter to a blossom tree in full bloom, which one would you say was ‘doing the best’?
The one in full bloom, but only outwardly. We don’t scorn a tree for losing its leaves in winter, nor do we scorn the moon for waxing and then waning.
We need to learn to have that same patience with ourselves.

If we’re so focused on the last season and the differences between then and now, we’ll miss the beauty and purpose of this phase. Each phase and season is for a reason. There is a divine timeframe and a perfect order to these things, even if we don’t understand it. And we need to learn to embrace where we are right now.

And maybe also just take the time to step back and ask God ‘What do you want me to be learning here? What do you want me to be focusing on in this season?’
And sometimes we need to stop focusing so much on our growth and our productivity and ‘how well we’re doing’ or ‘how good we’re feeling’. If we focus on the important things like love and kindness and being patient with ourselves, which will enable us to be patient with the people around us, then we will grow. And we will learn. And we will achieve what we’re meant to achieve.
Just without the striving and without the anxious focus on the amount and speed our growth.

Live lightly and let yourself flow seamlessly between the phases, like the moon.
Blossom like the flowers, just bathing in the sun, soaking in the rain, and effortlessly blooming.