Labyrinth patterned after Chartes Cathedral

I mentioned today in conversation that I’ve been presented several times in the last couple of months with the opportunity to walk a labyrinth.

The last time was just last weekend when I was down at Gustavus Adolphus College for an ALCM conference.

I’ve spent the spring puzzling over how to arrange my time and my work, now that I don’t report for duty in a cube every morning. I find the labyrinth an apt metaphor for this conversation in my head (and with individuals serving as reflectors for me) – it seems I’ve been around this part of the scenery before. The landscape is familiar somehow. And I can’t tell exactly if I’m closer to the center on this turn… or still far away.

And yet, the peaceful part of walking the labyrinth – once you know a little of how they work – is that it doesn’t matter. All you need to do is keep moving and you WILL arrive at the center. The scenery may repeat as the path curls back on itself. But your view is different in subsequent rounds.

The tragedy would be to not recognize the scenery as familiar and continue to struggle and fight and wrestle with the questions of whichever portion of the path one is on as if for the first time, again and again.

While walking it this time, I realized a sensation or gut feeling that something will break through for me this fall. Pieces are going to fall into place and I’ll be doing a lot of something. I can see the busy-ness of it but can’t quite tell exactly what it will be. A combination of several things most likely. So I can stop worrying and keep talking with people, keep open, keep watching and keep de-cluttering this summer. Because the fall is going to come and I’ll be very disappointed (and stressed) if this isn’t done when things get busy again.

I’ve talked about labyrinths before, over here. What about you? Ever feel like you’re going in circles? Ever walked a labyrinth?