Mandala Readings

Weekly Mandala Reading #10: The Bigger Picture

Ever notice when flying in a plane how the view inside looks like a human sardine can? It’s packed with people in very uncomfortable seating arrangements with at least one poor child screaming in agony throughout the flight and another using your seat back as a kicking bag. Just getting up to use the rest room becomes a major ordeal, especially when seated in one of the inner seats.

But with one turn of our heads, the view completely changes. Looking out the window of this flying sardine can gives us a grand view, a bigger picture of where we are. Depending on the plane and how far along in the flight, the earth lays 30,000 feet below us in all its vastness as we fly amongst the clouds.

This mandala reminds us to turn our heads, look for a different perspective, see the bigger picture. What an amazing view we would miss if we stay focused on all the inner chaos of the plane. In this case we would miss beautiful clear night’s sky and the rising of the moon from behind a grand mountain range as it reflects off the large body of water below.

Today, while speedily walking towards my next errand and thinking about the next task after that, I caught a glimpse of a bright red, metallic star balloon, floating above the street. It contained just enough helium to keep it afloat without it going off into the stratosphere. I stopped to watch it as it floated up an down with the wake of the passing cars and trucks, without an apparent care in the world. It reminded me 1) to slow down and appreciate the view around me instead of being lost in my monkey mind thoughts as I scurried along, 2) to breath and be present in the moment,  and 3) to go with the flow.

Of course we can delve deeper into this idea of the bigger picture…of how we let ourselves become so wrapped up in what seems to be important in our tiny little worlds and forget to stop to take in all the wonderful and amazing things and people all around us.

What’s in your bigger picture?

joyfully,

Maureen, The Mandala Lady

ps…just for the heck of it, I decided to color this same mandala using the same colors but on white paper just to give you an idea of how different the mandala would look and as to why I chose (or rather was guided) to use black paper for these weekly mandala readings.

"White" version of this week's mandala