Mandala of the Lunar Quarter, 12-13-10

 

Mandala of the Lunar Quarter - 12-13-10 - First Quarter 

The holiday season can be extremely stressful, even though we may feel great joy of giving and receiving gifts and seeing friends and family and sharing meals. Some of may feel alone and frustrated, or even depressed (one example is Seasonal Affective Disorder); others may be busy every possible moment and feel overloaded and overwhelmed. In any case, we all need to set aside sacred space and time for our inner peace, as the greatest gift we can give anyone is to take good care of our selves before we can truly give to others.

This mandala represents some of my frustrations ... I keep trying to reach the peaceful center, but it seems like all of the holiday activities are blocking me from it. I've forgotten at times to stop everything, simply BE and breathe. I've chosen to represent the holiday season with trees, so it can appeal to all people. The dove in the center is a universal symbol for peace. 

The outside ring I've left segmented, to hold many small doodles or words. You can list all of the things that are stressing you in the blank spaces, or draw symbols or little pictures to represent your stresses. Alternately, you can use the blank spaces to fill with words or doodles that lead you over the busy holiday season to the calm center inside you. Perhaps you might print out and color one of each kind of mandala to fill your needs.

This is also a great mandala to print out for children to color during the holidays, perhaps as a distraction while the adults are busy with cooking, cleaning, socializing, traveling, etc. I can easily see the "kid's table" set up with crayons, markers or colored pencils, and children of all ages sitting and coloring this mandala together. 

When giving your child a mandala to color, please observe - rather than direct - what the children do with the blank spaces on the outer ring, as well as their color choices and the strokes they use - you might be able to spot subtle stresses your child cannot articulate in words. For example, a mandala filled with dark, heavy strokes of dull colors can be an expression of distress or worry in a child. (This is but one generalization taken from formal child art therapy.)