24-315 Selflessness

The Mandala Lady, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
MotD 24-315 Selflessness — after. textured abstract background with varying shades of purple, pink green, white, beige, and small splashes of oranges and yellows. on top in black ink are outlines of most of the different shades of colors with the predominant shape being hearts…of all sizes.
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Selflessness

“caring more about other people’s needs and interests than about your own”

Yes, please…more of this please…with one caveat…without doing harm to our own well-being…because how can we be caring of others when we’ve fully depleted our own tank…which can lead to full-blown co-dependency and total loss of self. Again…how can we care for others when there’s nothing left to give?

I mention the caveat because most of my childhood and up into my late 20s, I was what I call a Flaming Co-Dependent. EVERYONE else’s needs came way before my own. I was so deeply entrenched in it that when people would ask what I wanted to eat, what restaurant did I want to go to, what movie did I want to see?…my answer would always be something like: “I don’t know…whatever you want is okay with me.” In the early days of this I was consciously doing it because it was expected of me to be “polite and considerate”…but in later years, it was so engrained in my that I TRULY DID NOT KNOW what I wanted…I had come desperately close to losing sight of myself…and my wants and needs.

It took a lot of therapy to find myself again. I’ve learned the value of saying “no”. I’ve learned how to discern more appropriately what I’m able to do and what is beyond my capacity to do. I’ve also been learning how best to show up in the world…to know how best my gifts/talents/helpfulness would serve the greater good of all.

The essence of selflessness is caring about the greater good for all of us.

How about you? Is selflessness a core value for you?

BTW…here’s what it looked like to begin with …

MotD 24-315 Selflessness — before. textured abstract background with varying shades of purple, pink green, white, beige, and small splashes of oranges and yellows.

joyfully,

Maureen
The Mandala Lady

🌟 bringing sanity to an insane world through the art of mandalas

About the 2024 Mandalas of the Day

Each day I will create and post a mandala inspired by one of 366 “value” words chosen randomly. The objective being to discover for myself which ones would best represent my core values…and by doing so, I hope it inspires you to determine your own.

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Published by The Mandala Lady

My Mission: connecting with our Inner Light in delightful, inspiring ways For me, creating mandalas is more than just coloring pretty patterns in a circle. I do it because my spiritual evolution and creativity require it of me. My mandala designs come about within an active meditative state, connected with my higher self, my spiritual guides and nature spirits. Together, we bring into form, mandala art the allows me to re-connect with my own inner peace and joy, letting me explore and expand my own creative spirit to however far and in whatever direction I want to take it. As part of my own spiritual journey, I encourage, and hopefully inspire, others to explore their own creativity, to help them re-connect with their own inner peace and joy. As a means to that end, I make all of my mandalas available for people to color. Why should I have all the fun?

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