Skip to content

Today is my Birthday

I’ve completed another journey around the sun. Where did those years go? I’m now closer to being eighty than seventy and those early years are long since gone from my memory.

Betty and John at 4th Street
Hanging out with Mom at 4th Street

What I Learned from the Monks

In September of 2008, a group of Tibetan monks arrived in Peterborough, NH to create a sand Mandala at the Mariposa Museum. It was exacting work to create an elaborate pattern from colored sand using brass funnels.

Monks creating a sand mandala
Monks creating a sand Mandala on the floor of the Mariposa Museum in Peterborough, NH

The work day would commence with some chanting, The monks would work silently with no sound except the scraping of the ridges on the funnels. I sat in for some time during the week to soak in the energy.

Monk creating a sand mandala
Exacting work

September 10, 2008

My birthday arrives and the Mandala is complete. However this is a lesson about the impermanence of all things. This object of great beauty will be destroyed. Swept into a pile of gray sand and released into the river. This event is accompanied by more chanting and a procession to the river.

Healing Mandala
All things must pass

We proceed to the sacred Contoocook River at Depot Park. The sand is release to the universe.

Tibetan Monk
After completion of a sand Mandala, it is destroyed and the sand is cast into the water.

Thoughts

That was fourteen years ago. Today another birthday, another transient moment. Lunch with family today and a trip to see old machines tomorrow. Enjoy your life, it is fleeting.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from My Strange Life

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading