Mom's Mandala
In November 2011, I traveled to Hilton Head, South Carolina to visit my 90 year-old mother for what turned out to be the last time. I wanted to spend some time with her, and while I was there, to do some mandala healing work around our relationship. I figured she would tolerate it but not get involved. My sister who lives in Charleston was also interested in the process. We used many mementos from Mom's past, as well as natural objects that we gathered in the pine woods nearby.
To our surprise, Mom got very involved, and seemed intuitively to "get" that this circle was an honoring of her life and a way of expressing the completion of her life cycle. She came out on the deck and sat with us in the chilly Sunday morning, admiring our work. It was by far the best visit I had ever had with my mother. She died two months later.