Bountiful Blessings Mandala (11 Point Series and Circles of Fall Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010
source image: turban squashI love walking around the Farmer's Market when the bountiful blessings of harvest are on full display. I'm filled with a sense of gratitude at how fortunate I really am to live where I do and have so much around me. This turban squash with its multicolored marking really caught my eye, and I wondered what stories it might have to share with us?
When I finished this mandala, I thought about how much I don't know and may never know about what we call Life. Sometimes writing about these mandalas is difficult. I am filled with so much emotion, and this mandala evokes lots of feelings in me.
The center of this mandala contains the unknown, as well as an ever glowing ember inside. This is our core. We all have that glow. How much we choose to let it shine is a daily choice. The amount at which I am shining these days is way different from how I was a few years ago, and more recently I have gotten in touch with how much more I want to let that light expand. This mandala seems to speak to that desire. From our core, we naturally blossom forth and shine in the world with our very best intentions. It is a choice. We can shine or we can shrink. Most of us, and I definitely include myself in this, have no idea how radiant, powerful, and beautiful we really are.
I am reminded again of Marianne Williamson's powerful words:
Bright blessings,Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas
5 comments:
Beautifully said! We all need to continuously work on our inner light in our busy lives!!!!
This mandala and the musings you posted with it are very apropos for me right now. Especially the part about not knowing how radiant, powerful and beautiful we really are. It is so easy to let the clouds of self-doubt obscure that glowing ember from our own knowledge.
Val - it does take some conscious effort, doesn't it?
Ellie - I rewrote some of the post after you left your comment, and I still don't feel like what I want to say about the mandala has been said to my satisfaction :) With all of the shifts going on in the Universe right now, I do think we are being called to be True to Who We Are.
My first thought on seeing this mandala was, "Oh, she's got people!" It seemed like an African textile print with couples (merged as one) holding hands all around it.
Thanks for all your caring and thoughtful vibes, Sue. I would also add that, personally (being an artist), I love the wordless Wednesday posts.
Hi Julie - thanks for your comment. I intend to go back to Wordless Wednesday in December. I like them too :)
Post a Comment