We are grateful and excited to share this inspirational article by Patricia Fitzgerald as part of our ongoing “Artists’ Stories” series about how art can serve as a catalyst for positive change and healing. Patricia Fitzgerald is an artist based in Dublin, Ireland. Her main focus is on the art of Mandala and the power of mandala as a tool for the expansion of consciousness. Her art has been sold internationally and has been exhibited extensively in Ireland. The artist also hosts workshops and retreats in Ireland and abroad on Mandala creation and meditation. She is also the author of “Healing Creations: Discover your mindful self through mandala colouring and journaling”. Her website is healingcreations.ie.
The Mandala and The Power of Hope, Trust, Community and Spirit
By Patricia Fitzgerald
Last year a wonderful group of volunteers and I created this mandala of 1,000 lights for Home Sweet Home, a Dublin charity for homeless people. This mandala is all about hope, trust, community and spirit.
From the seed of an idea that I had only five days before the mandala came into physical being, the idea grew legs and support came from far and wide. The power of community and the power of social media amazed me. Gathering so many people together through Facebook to achieve something like this in such a short time required much trust. And just as when you physically work with mandala, that trust appears like a safety net.
We gathered over 50 volunteers, photographers, musicians, poets, 1,000 candles, 1,000 jars, 1,000 postcards for messages, 1,000 badges, transport, a huge LCD screen on St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre (the main shopping area in Dublin), insurance, fire extinguishers and much more!
Ana Dorado, photographer, kindly volunteered that night to come along and capture the event, which was fantastic. Everybody worked together to make it happen. We trusted each other implicitly and that each person would deliver what they promised and show up on the night. And they did.
When I work with mandalas I always have the philosophy ‘there are no mistakes’. To trust in the ‘mistakes’. The same proved to be true with this experience. I had a company in mind to create the 1,000 badges that we wanted to have made. I googled the company to get the number. The man’s name that I know is Robert. I called and asked for Robert and he said ‘Speaking’. I told him all about us, and he agreed to the badges. Then I said ‘can you give me the best email address to send the art files to?’ and he gave me a different address than the company I expected it to be. I said, ‘Robert, have you changed the name of the company?’ He said, ‘No, it’s always been this name.’ It turned out that I had called the wrong company, but happened to get this very kind Robert who gave us the badges anyway! The week was full of magic, synchronicity, beautiful mistakes and so much trust. Mandala magic.
On the evening, everything went smoothly and even the Irish weather played along. We raised over €4000 ($4,600 U.S.) for the homeless of Dublin. Like mandalas themselves, we are reminded that homelessness is an incredibly complex issue and needs to be addressed in a long term way across many services and supports by the people most qualified to do so.
Visit Patricia Fitzgerald’s website at healingcreations.ie
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