Full Moon 满月

Quite a number of festivals are related to the moon. And the Chinese Lantern festival which falls on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar is expected to have the full moon during the evening. The people would look for a bright and circular moon. If there is family reunion dinner, it is good to have all the family members present. The reunion dinner according to the Chinese language is tuan yan fan (团圆饭), literally, united circular meal. Hence, “yan” (圓) or “circular” often signifies “completeness”.

As it is said, the moon on the fifteenth day is brighter, but it is rounder on the sixteenth day. It doesn’t matter whether the saying is factual or not. Being complete is what many people are looking for in life. However, what we see with our naked eyes can be misleading at time. We see an incomplete moon or a crescent shape on different days. The reality is that the moon is still circular although we see different shapes based on the day it orbits the earth.

As the moon has its trajectory, the trajectory of our life may also vary due to different seasons. We need to have the perspective that we do not based our life journey according to what we see. The moon appears to have various shapes, but it is always circular. Likewise, a complete life requires us to see beyond what is physical. As I look at what happens to our life, I have my conviction as below:
“Unexpected things may happen to change the trajectory of our life. It will nevertheless transit to greater blessing for those who love Him and who are willing to submit themselves to His guidance and purpose.”

有不少的节期与月亮有关，即如农历的正月十五，也是元宵节，预计当天晚上会出现满月。人们会期望一个明亮及圆形的月亮；如果有家庭团圆饭，最好是所有家庭成员都在场。根据中文的 “圆”字，意思是圆或指圆形通常是象征完整。

据说，十五的月亮分外明亮，但十六的月亮则更圆。这是否事实并不重要，必竟 “完整”是许多人在生活中的期望。然而肉眼所看到的常会误导我们；在不同的日子看到月亮有不同的形状。而事实月亮仍然是圆形的，因为月亮绕地球运行而显示了不同的形状。

类似月球有其轨迹，我们生活的轨迹也可能因不同的季节而有所不同。我们需要有一个观点，即我们不必根据所看到的生活历程而下定論。月亮似乎有各种的形状，但它必竟还是圆的，同样的一个完整的生活不能根据所见的物质世界。我对变化的世界所采取的信念如下：
“生命航程可能会因为某些因素而改变，但是对于爰神及顺服祂引导的人將会形成更大的祝福!”

The moon on the 16th day of the first month of the Lunar calendar at Kota Kinabalu
亞庇年十六晚上的月亮