Skip to content

Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education

Exploring Curiosity, Imagination, and Wonder

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • MARCH SOL – 2025 – Poems about Nourishment

Tag: Mandalas

Mindfulness Mandala

July 22, 2024July 22, 2024 ~ wordancerblog ~ 7 Comments

There are moments that we will never forget in our lives, some are traumatically stamped there, and some, like this one, are placed indelibly as a mile marker of hope.  As I age, I find myself searching my memory more and more for those hopeful mile markers. 

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
Like Loading...
  • One Little Word, 2026
  • Looking for the Light
  • Joy to Writers: Lessons from 2nd Grade
  • A Grateful Writer
  • Put Learning in Their Hands
January 2026
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Dec    
  • January 2026
  • December 2025
  • November 2025
  • October 2025
  • September 2025
  • August 2025
  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2016
  1. Trish's avatar
    Trish on One Little Word, 2026January 7, 2026

    I can't add anything but, "Brava" to the comments here! The stanzas that begin, "Remember me as..." speak so clearly…

  2. Lainie Levin's avatar
    Lainie Levin on One Little Word, 2026January 7, 2026

    Well, first of all, the older I get, the older "old" is =)And I love the mindset you are bringing…

  3. Jessica Carey's avatar
    Jessica Carey on One Little Word, 2026January 7, 2026

    Remarkable. Flashy and spunky. I love your attitude approaching this year and your upcoming birthday. So inspiring.

  4. Leigh Anne Eck's avatar
    Leigh Anne Eck on One Little Word, 2026January 6, 2026

    I love all of this! The word, the thinking behind it, the poem, and the picture! I just reacently purchased…

  5. Fran McCrackin's avatar
    Fran McCrackin on One Little Word, 2026January 6, 2026

    I like the way you build up to your word reveal. And with the perfect photo!

Follow Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education on WordPress.com

7 responses to “Mindfulness Mandala”

  1. margaretsmn Avatar
    margaretsmn
    July 22, 2024

    I’m happy to find that the photo inspired a memory and a poem. I have seen postings about monks doing sand mandalas that are intricate and temporary. What a beautiful sand mandala you spotted in Maine. Yes to finding more moments of peace.

    LikeLiked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Fran McCrackin Avatar
    Fran McCrackin
    July 23, 2024

    My favorite lines:

    ‘I watch him like im watching a living prayer’ and ‘I am inside a prayer with him.’ What intimacy you reveal!

    I have a Mandela memory as well. After 9-11 a group of Buddhist monks worked over several weeks to create a sand Mandela in the Asian Art gallery in Washington DC. We happened to see them as they were almost finished. When done, they swept it all up and put it into the tidal basin, where it would travel out to the sea, spreading their prayer for peace and healing all over the world. Thank you for your piece, your poem, and for bringing that memory back to me.

    LikeLiked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. wordancerblog Avatar
      wordancerblog
      July 23, 2024

      Oh my gosh – I love the image of the sand mandala being washed back into the sea. Beautiful impermanence!

      LikeLiked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Denise Krebs Avatar
    Denise Krebs
    July 24, 2024

    Joanne, beautiful post. I loved reading more about the poem I already had the joy of reading. “placed indelibly as a mile marker of hope” Lovely description of the mandala. The photo is beautiful too. I went to Instagram and saw another of @heyalicia.art mandala.

    LikeLiked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Trish Avatar
    Trish
    July 24, 2024

    The very lines Fran selected are mine, too, such beauty and calm. I watched a small group of monks create an intricate mandala here and truly, it took me away from this temporal realm. When they summarily undid all that labor, I felt the deepest sense of our transitory being.

    People create labyrinth designs on our beach sometimes, truly stunning, to be walked in meditation beside the ebb and flow of tides, eventually to be wiped clean. Thank you for summoning these memories for me.

    LikeLiked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Fran Haley Avatar
    Fran Haley
    July 24, 2024

    Our world certainly needs more harmony and stillness, Joanne, as exemplified by the stunning mandala and your gorgeous poem. So many lovely lines, radiating from the power of prayer…I am thinking how we are all here to complement each other. If only…

    LikeLiked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. franmcveigh Avatar
    franmcveigh
    December 10, 2024

    “If we are quiet enough, we have the ability to see.”

    What a gorgeous ending!

    LikeLike

    Reply
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Dribbble
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education
    • Join 251 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d