In early January, I decided that I would make a mandala for each of the four seasons, and that I would complete each one during the actual season it represents.
True to form, I finished the one for Winter on the first day of Spring. OK, so I was one day late, but I think that’s not bad. And the weather cooperated with me totally. Here on Orcas, it was a gray, cool day, with high, howling winds. A perfect day to sit down with a hot cup of tea and, work in the small, tight way that these mandalas demand. A perfect day to finish this project that I have been pondering, doing sketches for, and finally drawing for almost three months.
It was the kind of blustery day I have been longing for all winter. We have had a pretty mild winter, with not enough of the drama that I look forward to so much. No loss of electricity since Thanksgiving. No cancelled plans. No sense of that deep quiet that I count on for renewal. No compelling reason to rest.
It has been a challenge to sit down and find that place of deep winter stillness within myself, and even more of a challenge to figure out what that “looks” like. Isn’t the whole concept of stillness the absence of imagery? How could I make something that is still and visually interesting at the same time? Within that challenge, I got to a place of conditional peace. Within my busy mind, I willed stillness to come to me. I breathed it into my yearning heart. I wanted this mandala to be dark and a little mysterious as I perceive winter to be. But of course, I wanted it also to reflect the promise of light and warmth both inside and outside my true self.
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