Walking The Labrynth
Just put one foot in front of the other
In a park not too far from my front door is a small, often overlooked grassy field. Embedded in this field are stepping stones fashioned into a maze-like path. This path doesn’t lead anywhere. Instead, it spirals in and then back on itself in a meandering route to its own center and then back out again.
This path is a labyrinth.
To walk a labyrinth is a meditative process. There is no thought. The only thing needed is to put one foot in front of the other. No worries about a destination. No first place or last place. No other expectations or responsibilities in that moment, just you and the path ahead.
The rhythm of the steps soothes my anxiety, making the labyrinth a place of refuge when the turmoil in my brain feels like it will drag me into the depths. I take the first step whilst lost in the inner turmoil of anxiety, fear, and stress. I walk slowly with measured stride, hands cupped loosely in a sloppy mudra.
My thoughts begin to straighten, to separate and unjumble, just as I step into the second ring of the maze. I feel the cold prick of moisture on my skin, and realize that the soft dew in the surrounding field is lifting up in the sunlight to form a brief misty fog. The beauty calms the anxiety and my head begins to clear.
Next the cacophony of the birds in the surrounding trees breaks through. No longer background noise, the warbling of the finches, the screeches of the jays, and sharp dee-dee-dee of the chickadees fills all my remaining senses.
By the time I reach the center, which took much longer than one would think from looking at the labyrinth from the outside, I am calm. If I stepped onto the path with a problem, it’s true that the problem may still exist at the center of the labyrinth. The difference is that now I will have begun to see a way through to a solution. The confusion is falling away or at least reduced. New ideas are flowing. Stress is shedding slowly with each step, such as when stripping off layers after coming in after a dark winter’s day.
The labyrinth allows me to untangle myself so I can become who and what I want to be. It’s a physical place that gives me an inlet into my emotional plane.
The wind and rain of autumn days or the ice cold winter time are the moments when I need the wisdom of the labyrinth most, yet this is the time when it is likely to be out of reach due to seasonal flooding or ice. Fortunately, every path is a labyrinth if you will only walk it.
On the darkest days when stepping outside my front door isn’t a notion to be seriously entertained, I walk the labyrinth in the small 920 square foot apartment I share with my spouse and teenager. The path I follow carves a figure eight.
Beginning in my dining nook, I walk into the living room and loop around the couch. My view is out the back sliding glass doors, where I can see our balcony plants and the birds at the feeder. Then I walk past the breakfast bar that is one wall of the kitchen, down the entry hall, and then through the galley kitchen and back to the dining nook. This journey is 47 steps, according to my watch tracker.
I string 47 steps to 47 steps again and again until I have walked hundreds or even thousands of steps around my living room. I am trusting my inner self to know when it is time to exit this labyrinth.
Each step is another on my journey to becoming more thoroughly myself.
Resources
Imagine my delight upon the discovery that there is a whole society dedicated to walking labyrinths! The Labyrinth Society has a lot of excellent resources and readings on labyrinths. The website also features a handy labyrinth finder.
Set Forth on a Bite-Size Adventure: The Labyrinth Toolkit
Ready to try a labyrinth walk, either your own forged path or an “official” one?
Dress comfortable for the conditions. Indoors I am usually in pajamas and comfy socks. Outdoors I choose walking shoes and clothes to fit the weather.
Outdoor labyrinth walking isn’t strenuous, so you may feel chilled even though you are moving. Dress in layers!
Take a few moments to center yourself before starting. Close your eyes and take a few slow deep breaths.
Try not to hold onto thoughts. Instead, think briefly of one or two things you would like to work through on the walk, and then let the thoughts go. I’ve found that solutions and peace tends to come about when my mind is wandering as opposed to when I am really chewing on the problem.
Have no expectations. The only thing to do is take the path. That is enough, anything else that comes of the walk is a gift.
Daybook
Weather~
Smoke rolled in, but we escaped it early in order to roll down the the far southwest corner of our state. We camped on the “big water,” the north Pacific, and enjoyed misty ocean mornings, sunny days in the 60s, and even an overnight thunderstorm rolling in off the waves.
Moments of Joy~
Too many to count – the mass ascensions of hundreds of kites at the festival, silly times with my loves, big holes dug out on beaches, ice cream cones on the boardwalk, years and years of family vacation memories revisited.
Sticky Wickets~
We returned to a kitty with an infected gland – he’s fine, but a rushed vet visit wasn’t what I wanted after a long drive and ferry trip!
On the Homefront~
A week sleeping under nylon makes for an inexpensive retreat, although our annual big water pilgrimage was a bit more stressful since it will be shortly followed by an even longer trip. FYI, we live on the “Small Water” – the Northern Salish Sea which is right above Puget Sound. “Big Water” refers to the actual North Pacific Ocean.
Of course we packed a picnic lunch for our trip down to the campsite, and of course we enjoyed it at one of our state’s wonderful parks.
Breakfasts and lunches were all homemade at the campsite, while we did enjoy lunches out. Three lunches, which allowed us to partake of each our three favorite restaurants in Long Beach, WA (Lost Roo, Hungry Harbor, and Benson’s, in case you are wondering).
I came home to a big garden harvest! Several pounds of tomatoes, runner beans, zucchinis, and cucumbers, along with plenty of kale and herbs. I’ll be preserving all next week!
Our only expenses this week, other than the three planned meals out, was admission to the kite museum, gas and ferry fare, a sixer of a beer, and ice cream cones.
The International Kite Festival is free to attend and to fly at, so lots and lots of wandering the beach, looking at really cool kites, and flying our own!
One benefit of vacationing in the same spot every year is that no one feels the urge to buy souvenirs or go into the over-priced tourist traps anymore! Just plenty of beach time and long walks – my favorite way to relax!
A week of thrifty meals:
Chicken sandwiches served with baked garden potatoes and cucumber-tomato salad (also from the garden).
Lasagna and salad.
Hot dogs and water melon.
Barbecue chicken sandwiches and corn salad.
Frito Pie.
Pizza (leftovers from the freezer, as we didn’t get home until after 7 pm).
Garden tomato and ricotta gallette with roasties (potatoes) on the side.
Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead to where there is no path and leave a trail.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Fondly yours in love, peace, and gratitude,
Jenny Wren
I love this. It’s making me think of the path for an indoor labyrinth in my new home for winter days that will keep me indoors. 🙏🏻❤️