Briefly - a thought ...

A quote from Amy Bloom writing in O Magazine: The things that happen to us {even major, terrible, life-altering things: birth, death, prison, abandonment, illness) do not determine who we are; they reveal who we are.



I've been referring to Buddhist things lately, I believe I once read that Ms. Bloom is a Buddhist. At any rate her point of view seems Buddhist when she does not accept time wasting, self-centered delving into "why?" Instead she proclaims acceptance of what is. This is a "get on with it" attitude. We are as we are, we cannot blame one thing or another. The responsibility is ours. It's a comment one can think about a long time ...

The pictures are mandalas I purchased in Kathmandu a long time ago. They are not the Tibetan Buddhist mandalas which generally have pictures. They were sold, a far as I could discover, only at the gift shop at the Vajra Hotel. Many times I've looked at these mandalas and thought I should make a quilt or series of quilts inspired by them ... but I am daunted by the intricacy ... but perhaps one day I'll try ...

Lastly is a Native American "mandala" - a Navajo sand painting with corn god figures purchased in Tucson. Many people have remarked about the many similarities of the cultures of the American Southwest and that of Tibet. People have even remarked on the physical appearance of Tibetans and such Native Americans as the Navajos. I don't know where that kind of thinking can lead, probably to wild and wooly speculations that are mostly a mind game.
II deeply regret the quality of these pictures -- I have the most abysmal light and am almost never home during the 10 minutes when I actually get true sunlight in my apartment at all. A situation that causes me much despair.]