Waxing or Waning

It's beautiful to spot a full moon in a clear sky.  I've known since childhood that anything less than a full moon is waxing or waning.  Since I don't observe the moon routinely, I often wondered whether the phase I saw was waxing or waning.  I assumed that I needed to know what had been happening during previous evenings to accurately ascertain the phase.  It was terrific to discover that in the northern hemisphere the moon phases we see wax left to right and wane right to left.  Without applying the pattern, a partial moon could appear as either waxing or waning. 

A pattern also applies to our personal growth.  When we're open to new information and experiences we're waxing.  When we cease to be curious, and think we know it all, we're quickly waning.  The distinction is only instantly available to the individual.  To accurately assess the phase of another's receptiveness to growth, we need to know what has been happening in prior days.