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Friday, November 30, 2007

NAVIGATING CHANGE WITH GRACE

Fire in the Wheel - (Circles of Light series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2007
source image: false bamboo

This has been an intense week for me as I navigated my way through even more transitions and change. Life seems to provide us with an ever abundant supply of new adjustments. I have touched on moral, ethical, and financial issues, as well as on the health and well being of people important to me, during this past week. In the past I have experienced these times as moments of adjustment before the Wheel starts on its new cycle.

When I first looked at this image, faint Bible school memories of Ezekiel and the Wheel came up for me. This morning, as I began posting this blog, I was reminded of the Wheel of Fortune Tarot Card:

"In readings, the Wheel of Fortune can indicate a vision or realization that strikes with great force. If you've been struggling with a problem or tough situation, this card can signal that you will find the answer if you stand back and view everything from a larger perspective.

The Wheel of Fortune also represents unexpected encounters and twists of fate. You can't predict surprises; you can only be aware when one is circling around. Indeed, Card 10 often suggests wheel-like actions - changes in direction, repeating cycles and rapid movement. When the energy of the Wheel arrives, you will feel life speed up. You are caught in a cyclone that may deposit you anywhere. "Round and round and round she goes, and where she stops, nobody knows." source:learntarot.com

A potted false bamboo grows outside my window. All year long its leaves are beautiful shades of crimson and gold. In the fall those colors are even more pronounced. I am grateful to this tree for its graceful beauty and for the way it reminds me to look deep. During these times of increasing darkness, I believe the light shines even more brilliantly within.


7 comments:

Teri said...

It is beautiful and vibrant.

Thanks to you I am starting to work my way through Judith Cornell's book on mandalas. Wow, do I have a lot to learn. It is wonderful.

Debi said...

Hi Sue,

I bump into your name a lot -- we run in the same blog circles (there's a verbal mandala for ya).

Anyway, I check in on you now and then and always love to see what you are up to. I'm not a mandala maker myself, but I can appreciate the art and the spirit of it.

Which brings me to your mandala today -- this one blew my socks off. Gorgeous red that just won't let my eyes go. I also like the sharp delineations in it. It's like look up in a domed cathedral or something. But one of a dream.

You are very talented and I'm glad you share your vision and your visions.

Irene said...

I was commenting somewhere else that it is wonderful how Mother Nature gives us all this glorious color just before the dead of winter. It's an overabundance of reds and yellows and so exuberant. It's not wintertime yet and I look forward already to springtime and what it will bring. I will pass wintertime with much impatience. Fall really is a beautiful time of year, though.

Tangled Stitch said...

Another beautiful mandala and more beautiful words to go with it. I am going through a time of transition myself and was heartened to know I am not alone. Good luck on your journey and your mandala is beautiful!

dianeclancy said...

Hi Sue,

This is a beautiful mandala ... almost looks native american to me for some odd reason. Perhaps because of the harvest colors ?? I don't know.

What a great association to put it with the Wheel of Fortune!! Great idea! And it seems to apply to you currently.

~ Diane Clancy
www.dianeclancy.com/blog

Irene said...

I know what this reminds me of. It reminds me of the windows of the cathedral of my hometown of Utrecht where I lived until I was 8 years old. They were always so very impressive to me. The colors may be different, but the style is there definitely.

Shirley Twofeathers said...

Wow. Awesome mandala! I love that red!