Only Toward: 2026

A list of what to move toward, without counterweight

Since starting Moon Lists almost 10 years ago, I have made twice annual lists: Things to Move Away From, Things to Move Toward.

(I will link a few earlier installments here, should you be interested, here, here, and here.)

I keep a running note on my phone where I tend to the list over time. I don’t look at it often, but inevitably some entries will fall away—losing their charge or claim on my attention.

Last week, thinking about this post, I opened up the note and noticed that this time the “towards” far outnumbered the “aways.”

It isn’t that there’s nothing to discard. There’s plenty. It was more that the tone of the “toward” list resisted the logic I usually apply, and reading it through the lens of renunciation felt off. Or maybe I just kept wondering whether forward motion requires a corresponding rejection. Perhaps what I’m moving toward most right now is being shaped by accumulation; seeking what’s earned through experience, and time, and discernment.

Instead of balancing the ratio…