Often the same thoughts come back to you. I know I've had this series of thoughts before. Probably when I watched The Little Buddha. But today I realized it in context with the desire that comes with wanting to travel and seek new experience and knowledge. It is like making the mandala. Great effort goes into the intricate design. And when it is finished, it is obliterated with a sweep of the hand. Much like your life. So what if I go see the art in Rome. What is gained if I travel to the ends of the earth and visit all the wonders. In the end, I am erased just the same. I think if I am observant, the things I can see right here will be just as significant and just as wonderful. I just have to pay closer attention. The wonder of the world begins close at hand. It lurks under damp stones or hides in a small cluster of trees. We forget to see what we are looking at. Even before one's end, much of the experience is lost. Memory, even when aided by photos, takes only small samples of those times. But making the most of one's life to have a beautiful "mandala" has its own purpose. It could be the same as the beauty of flowers or intricate coloring of birds. But there is an effect on you personally which colors every thing you do. It gives a different perspective. Maybe wisdom. SO that becomes a channel to all the people we have contact with. And that changes the world for us and them.