2.26.21 … “I walked the labyrinth today – a mystic way to pray –“

“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2021 Lenten Labyrinth Walks (10/40), Finger Labyrinth @ Home – Charlotte NC, 2021 Labyrinth Walks:

Today is a cheat day! It’s raining and so I made the executive decision to listen to music, cook comfort food and walk on this printout of Jeff Saward’s Chartres labyrinth. I’m happy.

So here are the readings that struck a chord with me today:

“Solitude is one of the most precious things in the human spirit. It is different from loneliness. When you are lonely, you become acutely conscious of your own separation. Solitude can be a homecoming to your own deepest belonging. One of the lovely things about us as individuals is the incommensurable in us. In each person, there is a point of absolute nonconnection with everything else and with everyone. This is fascinating and frightening. It means that we cannot continue to seek outside ourselves for things we need from within. The blessings for which we hunger are not to be found in other places or people. These gifts can only be given to you by yourself. They are at home at the hearth of your soul.”

JOHN O’DONOHUE

Excerpt from the book, Anam Cara

Ordering Info: https://www.johnodonohue.com/store

And this from Henri Nouwen:

“Aren’t you, like me, hoping that some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner well-being you desire? Don’t you often hope: “May this book, idea, course, trip, job, country, or relationship fulfill my deepest desire”? But as long as you are waiting for that mysterious moment you will go on running helter-skelter, always anxious and restless, always lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. You know that this is the compulsiveness that keeps us going and busy but at the same time makes us wonder whether we are getting anywhere in the long run. This is the way to spiritual exhaustion and burnout.”

Source: Henri Nouwen Society | Burnout – Henri Nouwen Society, https://henrinouwen.org/meditation/burnout/

And two labyrinth-y poems:

The Edges of the Labyrinth

I’ve always walked the edge

of self-determination,

being out ahead

and on my own, alone.

The edge can be precipitous –

a ledge or canyon far below –

So I am careful where I walk,

and feel the danger with each step.

I walked the edges – new to me –

on carpet, soft and easy on my feet.

And whether off or on the edge,

I couldn’t fall. I’m safe. At peace.

by Jan Christophersen

After being at Grace Cathedral, Feb. 11-14, 2005

The Labyrinth

I walked the labyrinth today –

a mystic way to pray –

and went within to find the gift,

the thought, that God might say.

The path is winding on and on.

I didn’t know it was so long.

I often thought I’d gone astray

and wasn’t sure where I belonged.

The center was so far inside…

You come so close, then step aside

before you reach that middle place,

but resting there, you find God’s grace.

And walking out is just as long,

but God is leading on and on.

And now I’m sure of where I step

for God is with me all along.

I walked the labyrinth today –

a mystic way to pray –

a winding way around and round,

but straight to God within, I found.

by Jan Chrisophersen

seashelljan@earthlink.net

I walked the labyrinth today –

a mystic way to pray –

2.26.21