Blame it on the full moon

Today is the full moon. Did it affect YOUR behavior? Or just the OTHER GUY'S? Both of you? Or neither? Why do police forces traditionally send more men out on patrol during full moons? And how is it that during every other phase of the moon I am able to satisfy my customers' needs, but during a full moon nothing I do seems to be agreeable? Is there something to this age-old question, or is it just a wive's tale? Being a really inquisitive guy, I thought, "Everything I want to know about this sort of thing can be found on the "WORLD WIDE WEB" (cue the drum rolls and trumpet blasts)! I typed in "Full moon, and craziness". Sure enough, there are plenty of articles, blogs, and opinions on the matter--127,000,000 of them! When I saw the results of the search, I busted a gut laughing! The first 30 articles all had an opinion, even though they were different. Everybody is an expert on the subject, but almost none of them believe in the phenomenon. If there is nothing to it, why so many writings and opinions on the subject? (Sounds a lot like a belief in God, doesn't it?)

Some of the explanations sound plausible. Some attribute the changes in behavior to the fact that the full moon has a greater effect on the tides than at any other time of the month, and since humans are 80% water, it follows that we would be effected as well. Consider this: The oceans cover over 60% of the earth. Even a water mass of that volume only rises about 10 feet at best during the full moon. Can the moon have that kind of effect on the comparatively small volume of water in a 6 foot tall human being? I just don't think this explanation holds water (pun intended).

Other explanations use the greater gravity pull during a full moon to scramble the "positive" and "negative" ions that surround our bodies, as if these "ions" are what determine our personalities. I discount this theory because it is also the same one posed on really windy days. Which is it--the moon or the wind?

The bottom line, in my opinion, is that even though most people don't really believe the full moon makes them any crazier than normal, they're willing to come up with ANY explanation rather than face the reality that we are imperfect human beings prone to bouts of personality change without notice once in a while. So go ahead, blame that road rage or verbal outburst against your neighbor on the moon. After all, we can SEE the moon. We can't SEE sin against our brothers and sisters.

Holy Mother, you have shown us the rewards that a proper disposition to prayer can attain. Help us to imitate your example. Amen.