My home is my mandala — a mindset for physical distancing

April 5, 2020

I live on 0.19 acres. It’s a postage stamp in a development. Yet, since we moved to our little patch of ground, I’ve been amazed how occupied this fraction of an acre can keep me. And just how much bounty we share in a space that is (still) underutilized. We all have varying amounts of nature available to us, but almost everyone has a patch, even if it’s just an indoor plant or patio pots. Suddenly confined to the space of our homes, we grieve the loss of freedom to explore and be nurtured by our beloved outdoor places, and be with the ones we love. It’s healthy to be with the emotions of disappointment, sadness, and loss. And I’m choosing not to let it define the time. What if this is an opportunity to turn confinement into a meditative period of observation, reflection, learning, and acting? What does our patch of nature have to teach?

While we are asked to Stay Home, Save Lives, I’ve recalled the experimental tool used by David George Haskell in “The Forest Unseen, A Year’s Watch in Nature.” He describes the concept of the Buddhist mandala, a symbol or process of creation employed to focus attention, establish sacred space, and seek spiritual guidance. Christian mysticism also has a tradition of allowing the small and seemingly unremarkable be the lens through which we experience Ultimate Reality. From this concept, Haskell created a meditative study where he visited a square meter of forest regularly for a whole year, just to be present with and observe.*  

And so I see the gift of my own mandala in the time of COVID-19—my home, my tiny patch of nature. What’s happening here, and what does it tell me about the world, and myself? How can I let the experience of being with it bring me joy? I’m staying at home, but am I watching closely, that I might learn? Am I allowing the outward concentration to cause inward change? This is the intention I am bringing to our prolonged physical distancing. And there’s no better time to observe closely than beloved spring, where lessons in resilience and renewal abound. Please join me from your own mandala! I welcome your insights.

* “The Forest Unseen” is a great read, and should be on your confinement list. The Preface and Epilogue give insight to the motivation behind and practical applications of the mandala concept.