art found here
this is the artist’s explanation: “The mandala serves both as an aid in meditation and a diagram of the universe. Jia Lu, for whom the human figure is an embodiment of the entire cosmos, considers the mandala a magical symbol of life energy, an ever-turning wheel. More talisman than adornment, the jewelry on this powerful and proud woman comes from several cultures.”

an explanation of the significance of the mandala can be found here.

i think this piece is absolutely gorgeous. i’ve been thinking a lot about the line in the above explanation “the human figure is an embodiment of the entire cosmos”.

i think it’s funny how, when i get down sometimes, i think i’m completely alone and that nobody can ‘get’ me or fully empathize. i like the idea that we all embody parts of each other – like when the universe began there was an explosion of energy and each potential spirit got a spark of that energy.
in that spark existed everything – peace, joy, sorrow, fear, anger, hope – and at any given moment every spirit is beaming out every possible expression of those emotions, so that together, as one, we are fully balanced.

i like the idea that even though we are each different, and each on our own journeys, that there is a part of us that connects and supports with everyone else. we are all made of the earth, with fire in our bellies and dreams in our eyes and emotions that wash through us. we all want. and it is there. maybe not in the exact form that we expected, but it is there.

i had to take my dog to the vet today, and brother is she sick. she can only be walked 15 minutes a day for the next two weeks and has to take blue pills for just as long. no contact with other dogs, nothing.
as part of her adoption fee we got a free vet visit at the clinic that is housed in the same building as the spca, and in the cab on the way there, she just cowered. she didn’t really come to me at all, for all i tried to reassure her. the only other time she’d been in a car was when we were leaving “the bad place” , so she knew that we were going back.

and i know i read in too much to animals’ thoughts but i could swear i could hear her thinking, “what did i do wrong? why am i going back?”

for all i may have questioned my decision to adopt her this is MY DOG. the diarrhea and the cough and everything else is temporary. i realized that i couldn’t and didn’t want to give her back, and put that look in her eyes permanently. that fear, and mistrust. she is here with me, now, because she is meant to be – and she was so grateful to go home that she held my hand the entire way there.

this gave me another lesson: there is always a friend out there, waiting for you to notice them.