As I reflected on this question, what can I offer?

I thought about Easter, new life, transformation… National Poetry month…. Earth Day is in April… I thought about care of creation…

I thought about springtime… and all these ideas pointed to the unique ways we give expression to our spirituality and the opportunity we have to bring our whole selves to our experiences. Spirituality is a broad concept with room for many perspectives. 

A "Spirituality is the whole of our lives because it is not about doing but about being. So that whatever we ‘do’ – we do it as the person we are, our personhood (mind, emotions, body, spirit, will) is an integrated whole. This is our being – the same person going to work, cooking a meal, reading, mowing the lawn, bathing the kids, saying our prayers, watching TV, laughing or sad, whatever – spirituality touches and influences every part of our lives and every part of our lives touches and influences our spirituality." (Trevor Miller)

I would like to share a little about my spiritual journey. I have great memories of growing up in a family of eight with six of us kids. My mom was Irish Catholic, and we were raised in the Catholic faith tradition. My father was not religious, but his spirituality centered around a generous hospitality and a love of people. He was happiest with a house full of people and our home was a neighborhood gathering place for barbeques and all kinds of celebrations.

It was not until years later that I realized what a gift my parents bestowed, as I learned to see the world through the lens of a “both and” perspective, rather than an “either or”- “us versus them” mentality.

I remember an experience over 20 years ago, while visiting my family in Vermont. My mom and I went to an old used bookstore that we liked to frequent. There was something almost magical about the place. It was as if a book you were supposed to read practically jumped off the shelf and into your hands. As I perused the shelves, I came across a book by Carl Jung and as I thumbed the pages, I was taken in by colorful pictures of mandalas that his patients had drawn. They were steeped in symbolism and meaning, and he used them as a tool for assisting patients in the healing process.

At that moment, I experienced this inner knowing that I was going to draw mandalas for the rest of my life. It has been a spiritual journey and a means in which I can express my love, in times of deep grief and on festive occasions, as well. This is one I made for my mom after my father died. I discovered how drawing  mandalas aided my grieving process and to express love in a way that is healing.

To me, the circle represents God or an all-inclusive Love where there is no beginning and no end. The cardinal points represent the polarities in life, such as light and darkness, fall and spring, love, and fear, life and death. The center represents pure spiritual light and union with the divine (where there is no death, only love). We all venture out in life with many different paths, but they all lead us back to our one source: of unconditional, unifying LOVE.

So, we have come full circle to my opening inquiry:

What can I offer?

                    What can we offer?

                                                    Love

These words from Mother Teresa offer encouragement, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

I thank you all for the beautiful ripples of Love that you create, which will continue to ripple out in miraculous ways for generations to come.

Liz Sorensen Wessel
Photo taken in Burlington Vermont