These past few weeks my schedule exploded into chaotic craziness. Though I love spring, this time of year overwhelms me as I tend to say yes to too many commitments. On top of all the madness, we leave this week for a highly anticipated vacation. I am sooooo ready… but sooooo behind… all at the same time. Stressed and scattered is my song.
Do you know Sisyphus? In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned for an eternity of rolling a boulder uphill then watching it roll back down again. That is how I feel about my endless to-do list. For every two items I scratch off the list, four more appear.
I became acutely aware of this unsatisfactory and unrelenting tension when I attend last week the Spiritual Director International conference in Louisville Kentucky. I will write more about this wonderful interactive and peaceful conference on Thursday but wanted today to share with you the Tibetan Sand Mandela.
Four Tibetan monks chanted and prayed – in the middle of the noisy book and resource selling area. Yet they remained centered and unruffled. Respectful and reverend. Creative and peaceful. Focused on the work before them.
The mandala ceremony began with the consecration of the site through chanting mantras accompanied by flutes, drums and cymbals.
Then they begin the construction of the mandala by drawing of the design on the base, or tek-pu. The monks measure out and draw the architectural lines using a straight-edged ruler, compass and ink pen. The mandala is a formal geometric pattern showing the floor plan of a sacred mansion.
Once the diagram is drawn, we watched them place grains of colored sand painstakingly into place. The sand is poured onto the mandala platform with a narrow metal funnel called a “chakpur” which is scraped by another metal rod to cause sufficient vibration for the grains of sand to trickle out of its end. The two “chakpurs” are said to symbolize the union of wisdom and compassion.
They leaned in and slowly with intense concentration created over the three days of the conference a colorful, intricate sand Mandela.
During the closing ceremony, the monks dismantled the mandala, sweeping up the colored sands to symbolize the impermanence of all that exists. The sand was then poured into the nearby Ohio River so the “waters carry the healing energies throughout the world.“
Wow. What a lesson in how to approach my life work. My life as a whole. Watching them stirred within me some lessons:
- Start and finish everything with prayer.
- Remember to breath. Deeply.
- Honor my word of the year – “stillness.”
- Treat all details – even the tiniest specks with reverence.
- Focus on what is right before me.
- Ignore the confusion and noisy chaos surround me.
- When I concentrate on the simple, the complex will take care of itself.
- Let go of what is no longer working for me and only take on where God is calling.
- Create better boundaries. The monks’ first step after prayer was to draw clean precise edges of their work. (Will I ever learn to not cross my preset borders?)
- Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
- Be gentle with myself and allow myself rest.
- Smile and be grateful for all that I have right now.
“Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.”
~Hermann Hesse
Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.
John De Paola
There is more to life than increasing its speed.
– Gandhi
When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn.
Psalm 142:3, NLT
Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:9
I am still pondering and processing all that I saw and learned at the conference. I am soaking in wisdom and new ways of living. I feel alive, renewed and open. I am grateful to God for teaching me. Life sure is full of lessons, isn’t it?
What life lessons have you learned lately?
Seems like I learn something new every week. I do really try to learn something useful every day if I can. This is amazing about the Tibetan Monks and the Sand Mandela.
They were amazing Kim and so intense in their work. If only I had that kind of concentration. Shows it is possible though. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Jean,
The idea of not going past preset boundaries struck me as well as the idea of not letting the outside noise intrude…such a struggle sometimes…okay, most of the time…blessings to you and I pray you have a restful vacation 🙂
I don’t think I will forget how precise they drew those boundaries and did that right after the prayer, so it was the second thing they did before entering the work. I rush into the work and forget the prayer and boundaries. Yes I am looking forward to vacation. Leaving tomorrow. back in about a week. more later.
Another powerful post, Jean. God spoke loud and clear to me through you! Just minutes before I read this post I told my husband, “I hate the feeling that I might not get everything done on time.” You see, we have a house guest coming this weekend and other commitments to be met as well. Steve said, “You don’t HAVE to do everything.” He’s right, of course. There ARE shortcuts I can take, items of less importance I can remove from the to-do list. Now, after reading your post, I’ve got TWELVE wonderful strategies to put into practice, and a grand scripture as my guide, Psalm 142:3. Perhaps the bottom line is, I have to refuse to feel overwhelmed and focus on the ramifications of my word for 2015: trust! Thank you so much for your words of wisdom, Jean!
You are always so kind, Nancy. Enjoy your company this weekend. I know too often I get wrapped up having everything just right, I forget to be present for them and honor the time we have together. Glad we are on the same type of journey. Its nice to have company along this path.
Agreed: It’s awfully nice to have kindred sisters as company along this path toward sanctification! I’m very glad you’re one of mine!
Hi Jean! I really missed you! I’m sorry you were so overwhelmed (says me, who has been full of busyness too…). What a great time for a Conference though. And to be with other like-minded people who need to fill up, so they can pour out.
I saw this Tibetan exercise on “House of Cards”. It’s a Netflix series, and the monks worked in the midst of the fictional White House. They also swept it all away, after working so hard. Such a stunning lesson in impermanence. Peace is such a gift, I need to remember to STOP when things are getting overwhelming.
Happy vacation! Yay!!! (I’ll miss you again tho.)
Blessings,
Ceil
Fun emailing each other today. I didn’t know monks were on that series. how cool. They were so peaceful and intentional. Some really lessons there. Let’s keep in touch
The mandelas have always fascinated me – such patience! May we all slow down and let God into our hearts, souls, and minds. Blessings, Jean, and have a wonderful vacation!
They are quite beautiful and much more detailed than my photos show. Amazing what God will do when we slow down and just be with him. Thanks for the vacation wishes. I just finished preposting for while we are gone so I can now relax and start to pack.. LOL
Thank you, Jean, for sharing some of the things you learned! I was hoping to hear. 🙂 We saw some Tibetan monks creating a mandela when we went to hear the Dalai Lama last fall. So amazing. I could hardly bear to think of them dismantling it. But there’s a lesson in that too….
I thought later I should have recorded their singing. Very gruntly, low sounds, though. not musically to our western ears. They were also very serious – so intent. Dismantling it with intent too – amazing process. have a great week Lisa!