Day 47: Direction

Direction: 1. the act of directing or being directed 2. management or guidance 3. the work of a stage or film director 4. the course or line along which a person or thing moves, points, or lies 5. the place towards which a person or thing is directed 6. a line of action; a course 7. the name and address on a letter, parcel, etc. 8. the process of conducting an orchestra, choir, etc. 9. an instruction in music in the form of a word or symbol heading or occurring in the body of a passage, movement, or piece to indicate tempo, dynamics, mood, etc.


I created this series of mandalas in April, when I first bought and used some markers (instead of colored pencils).  At Wet Paint, I also discovered what felt like a cool long and narrow notebook, different from my usual square and small mandala notebook.  This was a fun exploration of ink and shapes and length and direction.  I like how the mandalas here grow from small to bigger, and the use of symbols with a point, and the variation in the direction of those points.  Just like life.  There is a constant variation in the direction of life, it seems.  Sometimes, my direction is clear, I know exactly where I want to go, where I am going.  The path feels right and clear and easy.  Other days, I'm all turned around, confused and actually begin to re-trace my steps back, to see where I might have taken a wrong turn.  I like the linear nature of this mandala series.  Once again, a feeling of comfort for me.  Life, of course, isn't linear, try as I might.  I hope I can take the cues in life that help me shape the path, much like the symbols in sheet music, helping me capture the tone and mood and tempo of any given moment on the path.