Zeal Mandala

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Zeal Mandala

Several years ago I created a series of circular designs, or mandalas, as a part of a healing-creative-prayerful time.  During the week I was working on each mandala the books I would read, the people I talked to, and the shows I watched all reinforced the theme of that particular mandala.  It was really uncanny.  That's why each mandala is like a powerful nonverbal prayer to me.  In my heart, I know creating each of the designs was part of my healing, and I still treasure them.  

One of the odder mandala names was "Zeal" not a word we normally use.  The dictionary defines it as: great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.

Last month, as we were scheduling my husband for chemo, this particular mandala popped up on my computer screen.  Now, to be fair, I have thousands of photos that occasionally pop up because I can't figure out how to make them go away.  Regardless, when I saw that bright little mandala icon it warmed me heart.  So much so, that I printed off a copy to put on the fridge.  I thought "Zeal" was kinda a funny prayer for chemotherapy, but since I wasn't really looking forward to the love-of-my-life going through it, I guessed I could use some enthusiasm.

Wow, what changes a month can bring!  Within days of putting up that mandala my husband, Shawn, decided he was NOT going to go the chemo or radiation route, instead he was going on a 100% Plant Based Diet.  Suddenly "Zeal" was an excellent affirmative prayer to have on my fridge.  Every time I have to plan a meal, make a lunch, or find something to feed the kids from our new diet, there it is to cheer me on.

Release Mandala

Several weeks later, my youngest son brought me another mandala print-out.  He doesn't know how he did it - he was really doing his Spanish, but somehow it printed.  This had never happened before, and I looked on it almost as a gift from above. The name of the freeform mandala is "Release".  Which I, unknowingly at the time when I created it, gave to a woman whose husband had cancer.  This comes full circle to me.  Zeal and enthusiasm for what we can do, and then release the rest.  We can do this.


I'll be happy to share my process for making mandalas in a future post if there's any interest so let me know if you want a tutorial...or if you just want to color one in, you can print them for free for personal use off my website www.lisabaus.com.  I have 30 different prayer mandalas I created in the series available there.