Pretty Little Rocks

I had to take a break from the Napkin Ring Project for a bit because I can’t quite get started with stringing beads on twine. I don’t know why, but something about the idea of working with twine just doesn’t feel like a pleasant tactile experience today.

So instead I took out a 10 pack of metallic color pens I had ordered after I saw an Instagram post about drawing mandalas on rocks. I have collected random beach rocks over the years and have a basket of flat, nicely shaped ones, so I picked one out and spent some nice slow time getting used to the markers. I need to get a larger, more rounded rock to do a real and intricate mandala, but I will pick one up the next time I go to the beach and keep trying.

As I was focusing on the tiny dots and circles and lines, I found myself thinking about nothing else, just the designs I was making and the weight I was using on the tip of the pen and how it was causing lines and dots to be bigger or smaller. It wasn’t until I was done with that design that I realized an entire half hour had done by and I hadn’t even noticed the time passing at all.

Which was pretty remarkable since I’ve been trying to meditate lately and haven’t been able to keep my mind off the million things going on in my life and the world in general.

The thing I found most remarkable was how fresh my mind felt after I was done. It was almost like I had taken a nap. My thought process was clean and clear, and I was ready to get things done. I have tried various mindfulness strategies over the years, and I’ve never had something work this well. I’ve tried coloring pictures of mandalas and didn’t find it helpful at all. I’ve tried drawing mandalas, and it just frustrated me. I know what I created aren’t traditional mandalas, which is Sanskrit for ‘circle’ and mine aren’t, but I like that I got to be creative with my designs as I was experimenting with my new markers. I also appreciated the physical act of creating. More pressure, less pressure, turning the pen sideways for broader strokes and straight up for thinner ones…it was a good reminder of how to be present and mindful during the coming week. To determine how much pressure to put on myself in any given situation and to remember that there are times to lighten up because going easy can create something just as beautiful as putting a lot of pressure on yourself.