Letting the labyrinth lead

 

Never has mowing been so satisfying!

The distinction between path and wall has become clearer, and yesterday my son suggested we walk the labyrinth with our eyes closed.

It was amazing, and disorienting and so peaceful. We navigated by the feel of soft grass on either side of us. The turns were tricky, but not impossible. They just required patience to feel with your feet where the clear path turned.

I noticed things I normally don’t. The feel of sun on my face, the direction noise was coming from - traffic and rustling wind - and I used this to work out which direction I was facing. Invariably I got it wrong a lot. Because we kept turning round and around and we were never facing the same way long.

This was my favourite labyrinth walk so far. 

Mary xx

(We also walked backwards, and backwards with our eyes closed! So much fun!)

 
 
 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE LABYRINTH?

Read the essays below, visit the main In the Labyrinth page, and get your very own letterpress labyrinth card, for meditation and mindfulness.

 
Featured
Saying goodbye
Saying goodbye

I fell back in love and became more attached to the labyrinth than ever, right at the point of letting go.

Constancy
Constancy

Unlike going for a walk, when walking the labyrinth there is no sense of trying to outpace the feelings, resolve them, shake them off or leave them behind. 

Letting the Grass Grow
Letting the Grass Grow

It’s not just the mental shift from gardening to guardianing (thanks to Mary Reynolds for that beautiful phrase), but a certain kind of loosening inside me. 

Yes, that IS a flamingo in the garden
Yes, that IS a flamingo in the garden

The labyrinth of my imagination was a dreamscape of nodding buttercups and feathery seedheads visited by chaffinch and damselfly. I imagined draping my hand through the long soft grass as I walked…

Letting the labyrinth lead
Letting the labyrinth lead

The distinction between path and wall has become clearer, and yesterday my son suggested we walk the labyrinth with our eyes closed.

Lessons from the labyrinth
Lessons from the labyrinth

“Do you feel all zen when you get to the middle?” my son asked, as we walked the labyrinth together this morning.

Let me clarify what it means when he and I walk the labyrinth together. Forget a meditative walk. This is a race.

Creating a grass labyrinth
Creating a grass labyrinth

As with learning most new things, the hardest part was at the start. It takes a while to learn the language of anything new.

 
Staying HomeMary WalkerlabyrinthComment