"Can we learn about India
and do an Indian craft?"
she asks
We watch a video of Tibetan monks
creating a beautiful sand mandala
....after days of detailed work.....
they ceremoniously
sweep it away
a bit appalling
if you're 8
but a good start
to a discussion
about the impermanence
of life and the world
which ends with
my daughter stating,
"I'm gluing my mandala down"
.......
Six weeks later
I repeatedly arrange
paper I've cut -
placing each piece
exactly where I want it
I'll take a photograph
before I glue my collage
down onto the canvas,
"Be like the monks"
my daughter says
a lovely well internalized deep thought
except for having no relevance
to my creations
which will be lasting forever
.........
I carefully carry
my near complete masterpiece
to the naturally lit front porch
gently set it down
and adjust my camera
.....
Mother Nature
finding this hilarious
laughs
as she gently
blows the circles
into a pile
one much more interesting
than I could have
come up with