January’s Full Moon is also known as the Cold Moon, and most likely a large majority of us are feeling a wintery chill about now.  Many of us are also slowing down and hibernating—becoming more reflective about the world we live in and our place in it. I find it appropriately intriguing that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on this date of the Cold Moon this year. To reflect what Dr. King accomplished in his lifetime, as well as mourn for all the more he could have done if his life had not been cut tragically short are definitely issues to be meditated on for Monday, January the 17th, 2022.

It could additionally be a time to get out your journal and write your thoughts down. See what comes to the surface when you let yourself go for three pages straight without stopping. You may find patterns, an old habit to lose, or some new ideas to implement. If you were to record yourself in a confessional format, what sorts of things would you talk about? What would you choose to share with people? Would you keep your cards close to your chest? Or would you bare all—being honest and liberated in the process?

I chose to do just that with this month’s “Women Who Howl at the Moon” podcast. I decided to do what I’d often done as a young girl, using the tape recorder as my favorite toy. I’d hit record and just go, letting all my ponderings, ad-libbed jokes, laughter, and notions fly about, seeing where they would land. I really enjoyed it even more than I thought I would all these years later! I started by loosely answering some of the interview questions that I frequently ask my guests. As I went on, I found myself wandering off-script, to explore a musing I’d had and share more of myself intimately with my listeners. When I finally ended the recording, I’d hit about 45 minutes—not bad. Although I’ll probably edit the pauses to tighten it up a bit and add in some music and sound, I have a feeling I will largely leave it uncensored and be proud to do so. It’s taken me a good while to feel comfortable in my own skin. And though admittedly this is still a work in progress, I do sense I’m getting ever closer all the time. May all of you find your true confident selves that you were intended to be—living your fullest potential.