Mandala Making and the Questions We Must Keep Asking
So I’m back from Fire and Water.
I’m back from Hope Springs—and from the trees, the birds, the bugs, the breeze—all of it. But more than anything, I’m back from being in relationship and community with that mighty group I’ve walked alongside for the past 16 months.
We started as a larger circle. We ended with a smaller number, but those of us who returned, who chose to return, did so to close out something significant. We came back to mark the end of this journey, together.
One of the most powerful moments during our final four days was when we created a mandala together.
The mandala was made entirely of natural elements—flower buds, ferns, rocks, pieces of tobacco bark, petals—whatever we found around us in the land’s abundance. For about 30 minutes, we engaged in mostly silent practice. No talking. Just listening with our bodies. Moving. Bending. Placing. Arranging.
It was a quiet negotiation—a sacred collaboration.
There was no leader, no single plan—just a shared intention to build something beautiful together. And in that layering, in that adding and removing, in that stillness and care, we were practicing community and practicing what it means to move in consideration of others. To contribute, to belong, to be part of something meaningful.
I took a short video—about 90 seconds—of us in that practice. India.Arie played softly in the background, her lyrics fitting the moment perfectly. It felt like a soundtrack to something ancestral, something timeless. Her music held us as we held one another in presence.
What I loved about that moment is how small the practice was—and yet how deeply it resonated.
It reminded me of what’s possible.
Of what I want to stay in practice with, both inside and beyond Fire and Water.
This wasn’t our first mandala. Throughout the journey, we made other sand mandalas, personal ones crafted with different elements. Each time, I learned something new about what matters to me. About what values I want to cultivate more intentionally as I continue deepening my understanding of myself and of what it means to truly be with others.
For that, I feel immense gratitude.
And so I leave you with two questions that our guide Quanita Roberson offered us, as she held this space with so much care over the past 16 months:
How do we really want to be together?
What do we want to be to one another?
These are the questions I’m holding close as I return to daily life.
They feel especially important in this moment, given all that we’re living through, all that we’re navigating.
I hope that what I offer here, through Sajes Ed, can support those questions.
Can be one small resource toward the kind of futures we want to create, with and for one another.
If this reflection resonated with you… I invite you to explore more through The Wisdom Knot blog or listen to an episode of my new podcast, where I share voice-first reflections, stories, and practices rooted in ancestral wisdom and collective care.
You can also join the Sajes Ed mailing list to receive new offerings, reflections, and resources directly, especially if you’re an educator, healer, or cultural worker seeking spaces of purpose and restoration.
Let’s keep building together.
