"If you could imagine the most incredible story ever, it would be less incredible than the story of our being alive on this earth." ~John O' Donohue         

  Watercolor by ~liz  5/3/10

Mandala is the Sanskrit word for sacred circle. Each of my drawings originate within a circle which symbolizes God; a beginning without end, inclusive, unconditional. The center represents the essence of God's Love, pure spiritual Light and union. A mandala is a microcosm of life and a macrocosm of the universe.  Polarities are characteristic as in nature with each element having an opposite, such as darkness and light, joy and sorrow, winter and summer, love and fear. Yet, ultimately there is no  separation because everything is interdependent and co-exists as One whole. 

The process of drawing a mandala invites a sense of integration and harmony. One begins to experience a greater awareness of how all our differing parts are necessary in creating the fullness of life. Many of the mandalas I’ve drawn are detailed designs that require focused attention. All are drawn with Loving intention.

In the mandala pictured above, I did not wish to control the process but rather open to trusting the process. I felt a peaceful calm come over me as the brush revealed a story on the page. Midway through, I encountered the shadowy territory of self-doubt. The colors were bleeding into one another in disarray. I thought about giving up and throwing the painting away when Sr. Madaleva’s voice popped into my head, “Don’t throw anything away, Liz. Art is like life. Sometimes things are chaotic and messy. Your paints might run together and turn brown like mud. Yet, if you hang in there what you thought was mucky might turn out to be beautiful in the end."  Curiously, I now notice this drawing is without polarity and defined borders. Increasingly, this is how I am coming to view life. God may be hidden from sight but Love's presence is always within us.

"There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled. There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled. You feel it, Don't you?" ~Rumi

I wish to share the following song with you by Peter Mayer called, "Holy Now." He sings a revelation, "Everything is a miracle, everything is Holy now."  Everything, even mud amid the changes of being alive.

What are you quick to discard from your life? What if you did not give up too quickly and did not toss it away?

~Liz Sorensen Wessel