Mandala

I started a new Granny square project, and when John saw it he commented that "old people like bright colors."  Very funny.

There's a blog called The Owl Underground that I enjoy reading, written by a lady in the Texas Panhandle.  I can't imagine a place more different from Seattle, but that's the marvel of the blog universe, connecting like-minded people from places you would least expect.  Anyway, she is a very fine knitter and wrote recently about how needlework can meditative. She described knitting as a “back-brain-centric” type activity.  My friend Julie is a superb seamstress and quilter, and I think she would say the same thing. 

I was at Barnes and Noble recently, and they had whole new section just for the mindful magazines. Of course that's a good thing, but the faddishness turns me off.  I went to that meditation retreat with 40 other people who had nothing better to do on a nice Saturday, and by the end of the day I was anxious to get home alone for a bowl of soup and glass of wine.

We don't have to sit on cushions. Just about anything can be meditative if it tamps down the brain chatter.  I think our minds are happier when our hands are busy-- crochet, knit, garden, cook, clean the bathroom, play the ukulele, sharpen knives, ride a horse down the trail.  The activity doesn't really matter if we give it our undivided attention.

The Buddhist monks spend weeks making those painstakingly perfect colorful sand drawings-- then destroy them in a single swipe.

Most of the drawings feature the mandala, a spiritual symbol that represents the universe.

Literally the word "mandala" translates to “center and its surroundings." A center point and a circle, surrounded by some sort of symmetrical design. Not that different from the humble granny square, really.