Why the Labyrinth?

I am obsessed with labyrinths. In fact, the labyrinth has become for me a symbol of my life’s journey and of my current career transition. 

As a tool for mindful or spiritual practice, the winding labyrinth reminds me of the deep, abiding cyclical time that underlies the unraveling of our days and that undergirds the linear trajectory of our lives and histories. The rising and setting sun, the seasons, the grand cycles of life and death. We spiral back around so many times (To everything, turn, turn, turn, There is a season, turn, turn, turn), growing and evolving to new layers of understanding as we go.

I love that a labyrinth, an ancient meditative aid, is not a maze. It's not a puzzle to be solved. It has no dead ends. When you hit an end, it's actually a turn, re-orienting you in a new direction. And almost none of the walking is in a bee-line towards the center, but rather it weaves back and forth, slowly winding closer. So for much of the journey, my internal compass tells me I am going the wrong direction. My destination is only in my peripheral vision, or over my shoulder, behind me. So the way is circuitous and defies simple goal orientation, but I've learned through practice that it will take me to where I need to be. I just need to stay on the path—following the guidelines of my values and commitments (the stones that mark the route)—and I will find my way to the center.

And, importantly, the journey itself will have prepared me for my destination. It will have slowed my heart rate and breathing. It will have brought me to a new state of awareness, including self-awareness, and openness. 

At the center, I pause, make a little offering — maybe some blossoms or fragrant bits of rosemary and lavender I have plucked and rubbed in my fingers along the way— and express gratitude, lift my face to the sun, or to the stars, and listen.

And then, after as long a pause as feels right, I retrace my steps back out again. For this arrival, this center, this destination, is not the end point. It is the beginning of another journey. 

This is the path of life. 

Comments

  1. Alma StreetJuly 16, 2023 at 4:29 PM

    If you want to be notified when a new Labyrinth blog post is published, please send me a request message with your e-mail at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheila-hassell-hughes/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Waters: Making a Way, Finding a Way

Image
As my family, friends, and colleagues know, I have been on a journey to find my "next thing." It's been a long road —or, since I'm a swimmer, let's call it a long swim. It started as a little paddle close to the shore, but eventually led me out into deeper, choppier waters, where I knew I could not touch down. It's been exhilarating, sometimes terrifying, definitely hard. And the best swim of my life. It began a little over two years ago when I took that first call from a recruiter. I was about six years into my “dream job”—the one I’d moved my family across the country for and had imagined staying in until retirement—and it was hard for me to consider leaving. But I knew I couldn’t just keep on. I felt like I was treading water, getting nowhere, and constantly out of breath. Every ounce of my spirit went into just trying to stay afloat, and none of it was renewing. I was on the edge, at least, of burnout.  COVID had certainly made every pain point worse, and
Read more

A Doctor in the House: Seeing, Speaking, and Stitching Connections

Image
About thirty years ago, I moved from Vancouver, BC, with my new husband, a southerner, to Atlanta, to pursue a PhD in women’s studies. The doctoral program at Emory University was new, one of the first of its kind, and I was to become one of the first graduates in the country in this interdisciplinary field.  I was more than a little proud, very exhilarated, completely terrified, and somewhat culture-shocked.   That first year, we joined a big Presbyterian church in downtown Atlanta. How we ended up there, neither of us being Presbyterian, and having an over-abundance of churches to choose from, is a story for another day. Kind of formal and fancy, but without much by way of artistry or liturgy, somewhat wealthy and very white, it really wasn’t the best fit for either of us, but we stuck it out for about a year. Determined to really give it a go, I joined the women’s bible class, even though it met before the service (I am not a morning person) and, at 26, I was the youngest member by
Read more

Getting to Home: When Loneliness Comes at You Like a Curve Ball

Image
Yet another article popped up on my LinkedIn this week reminding that we are in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, and highlighting that it is a professional as well as personal concern.  If connections require repeated, prolonged, informal interaction in order to bloom into meaningful friendships, then t he shift to hybrid and remote work is just one of many factors in our workplaces and larger society that are contributing to increased social isolation among working adults. What to do about it? The Surgeon General’s recent diagnosis of loneliness as a public health crisis highlights that this is a structural problem, not simply an individual one. But for those who are suffering now, structural change is going to be—and feel—really slow. As a mid-life, mid-career professional, I wanted to share here what has worked for me—well 3 things that have worked, in combination, and 1 thing that was just a good try. My story and these tips won’t be relevant for everyone, but I hope they might
Read more