Labyrinth
I don’t know when I first encountered labyrinths.
I do know that for a long time, I thought that labyrinths and mazes are the same thing.
They aren’t.
Labyrinths and mazes are fundamentally different.
Mazes are designed to lead you astray, to follow paths you think lead to the centre but lead you to be stuck somewhere half-way in.
Labyrinths lead you to the centre. The path you follow to that centre is meant for contemplation, to journey to your own centre as you follow the long, curved path to the heart of it.
The heart of a labyrinth is where you encounter divinity in some interpretations, your truth in others.
I walked my first labyrinth on the same vacation as where this picture was taken, and the one from the happy snapshot last week.
It was a simple 7 circuit labyrinth, laid out in the field of a spiritual retreat.
This one in the church had more meaning to me. It felt like I walked deep within myself as I followed the curves.
We arrived late, the church was about to close, so I was in a hurry to finish walking.
And still, it felt like walking in infinity. I can still remember the feeling when I stepped into the heart of the labyrinth and looked up.
A sense of wonder I can still recall to this day rose up in me. A sense of belonging.
The labyrinth brought me home.
I have since learned to draw simple 7 circuit labyrinths, and I find that I have the same feeling in creating and moving through those labyrinths as I had in that church in France all those years ago.
This convinces me that labyrinths are somehow magical in nature, healing and comforting, especially when your mind is in turmoil.
And even though I have no idea how I discovered labyrinths and their importance, I am so happy I did.