During those times when life feels too stressful to handle, we could all benefit from a miniature zen garden to help us soothe our souls before getting back into action. Zen gardens are known as “dry landscapes” composed of rocks, trees, bushes, gravel or sand, and recreate the essence of nature to assist meditation about the true meaning of life. On a slightly less spiritual scale, they can help relieve stress and get you in touch with the beauty of the world.

That’s where the Sandscript: Automatic Sand Drawing Machine comes into play. Created by ThinkGeek, it’s a mini zen garden machine that lets you design and draw your own sand drawings. It comes with two stainless steel balls in varying sizes which you can control and trace patterns in the sand.

Sandscript utilizes magnets and dials to make the drawing action possible, and the balls roll smoothly over the surface in the desired design. If you mess up or ever want to change the pattern, all you need to do is shake the machine to erase it and start over with a blank slate.

This miniature zen garden is 11 1/2” in diameter and can be placed on desks, coffee tables, and wherever else you might want to keep it within reach. You can buy it online for $49.99 and be one step closer to achieving calmness of the mind and true spiritual relaxation.