“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2022 Labyrinth Walks, 2022 Lenten Labyrinth Walks (32/40), Myers Park Baptist Church – Charlotte NC:
The sky was strange, not really ominous, but very heavily overcast. Definitely not Carolina blue. I hope that’s not an omen.
As I started to walk, it was 6 PM and the clock at Queens College was shouting the time. #DoesAnyoneReallyKnowWhatTimeItIs
I think I mentioned recently that the early flowering trees have passed and now the snowballs and the dogwoods are coming out full force. And quite a few azaleas.
Whatever it is, I was definitely experiencing allergies. That reminds me of last year when after I got my second Covid vaccine, I had allergy problems for three months. It is usually only two weeks for me. When I went for my annual physical in late June, my doctor said that it was actually not an unusual response to the Covid vaccine. The vaccine had stimulated my immune response and so I was over responding to all of the allergens. She advised that I take Zyrtec for the rest of the summer… I did and it solved all the problem. I must get the Zyrtec out again.
I’ve had a long day and it’s been a bit tough on me. I kind of hit my breaking point late this afternoon while I was attending a Bible study offered by a friend that I met when I was a freshman in college. After the Bible study, I sought out a 15 minute meditation… This is what I found… 15 Minute Guided Meditation To Find Peace In Uncertain Times, https://youtu.be/W19PdslW7iw.
I walked the labyrinth while she walked from her home nearby.
I so enjoyed our walk with her beautiful 11 month old pup Salem. We walked in the nearby neighborhood.
I loved the end of the conversation. We discussed Brene Brown, Madeleine L’Engle and A Wrinkle in Time, thin places, loss of language during war/conflict … “How we feel shapes our lives, but most of us have limited language to describe what we’re feeling. This limitation is the focus of Brené Brown’s new book, “Atlas of The Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and The Language of Human Experience.” …
“Language shows us that naming an experience doesn’t give the experience more power, it gives us the power of understanding and meaning.”
Brené Brown, ATLAS OF THE HEART
Once again I felt my time on the labyrinth and my time with a listening friend was transformative.
It’s amazing what a little bit of time can do to change my perspective.
“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2022 Labyrinth Walks, 2022 Lenten Labyrinth Walks (26/40), Myers Park Baptist Church – Charlotte NC:
I walked today with a friend that I made through Red Boot Way. Jinny is one of the wisest and most grounded people I know. And she asked to join me.
She knew this labyrinth well. She knew Tom Schulz the artist creator. She knew about the Chartres stone at the center. She knew it was good for children and people with ADD.
But still she let me talk about what I had learned.
She noted that it was a little worn. And I commented about the lamps in the corners that are “chaos” in contrast to the sacred geometry of the labyrinth.
She is a person who is gifted at holding space for someone. But I feel she was teaching me to hold space.
It was a beautifully cool spring day. The sky was blue. A few more trees have blossomed.
We walked and we shared the space with her 13 year old puppy and a mom and her two kids and our fathers.
“What does it mean to hold space for someone else? It means that we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome. When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgement and control. Sometimes we find ourselves holding space for people while they hold space for others. In our situation, for example, Ann was holding space for us while we held space for Mom. Though I know nothing about her support system, I suspect that there are others holding space for Ann as she does this challenging and meaningful work. It’s virtually impossible to be a strong space holder unless we have others who will hold space for us. Even the strongest leaders, coaches, nurses, etc., need to know that there are some people with whom they can be vulnerable and weak without fear of being judged. In my own roles as teacher, facilitator, coach, mother, wife, and friend, etc., I do my best to hold space for other people in the same way that Ann modeled it for me and my siblings. It’s not always easy, because I have a very human tendency to want to fix people, give them advice, or judge them for not being further along the path than they are, but I keep trying because I know that it’s important. At the same time, there are people in my life that I trust to hold space for me.”
“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2022 Labyrinth Walks, 2022 Lenten Labyrinth Walks (20/40), Myers Park Baptist Church-Charlotte NC:
I was so excited today to open up my mailbox and find my new book about labyrinths and sacred geometry, Patrick Conty’s “The Genesis and Geometry of the Labyrinth: Architecture, Hidden Language, Myths, and Rituals.”(United States, Inner Traditions/Bear, 2002).
I ordered it from Better World Books which means I paid $3.98 including shipping. It’s a bargain.
I browsed my new book today. And if the first paragraph of the Preface is any indication, this book is way over my head!
“The labyrinth, that most ancient and fundamental symbol of our human condition, remains an enigma that has still not been explained in a complete and coherent way. This shortcoming represents a missing link in our knowledge of ancient wisdom and in our methods of interpreting and elucidating myths and rituals. Semiology and the science of interpretation, or hermeneutics,appear from this point of view to be limited and incomplete, and their methods must be reconsidered.“
It will take a lot of work for me to get through it!
Back to my labyrinth walking.
I was sitting in the car waiting for a family member and it was downright hot in the sun. But as soon as I got over to the campus of Myers Park Baptist, it was really quite pleasant. I hopped out of my car and immediately was welcomed by the birds.
Some days when I walk I try to play. I may spin, I may power walk, I may sit and meditate in the center. Always I get curious looks since most passersby have no idea what I am doing. I am here to amuse.
I have been reading a book about my enneagram type. It tells me my type needs to play!
The only other noticeable thing is the first trees are greening out! Pollen Index is high. Welcome, Spring.
“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2022 Labyrinth Walks, 2022 Lenten Labyrinth Walks (14/40), Myers Park Baptist Church – Charlotte NC:
I opened my car door and what did I hear … Birds squawking loudly, lots of voices from either Queens or the Cornwell Center of young people participating in sports…and the steady din of late afternoon traffic.
Before I came here, I dropped by my friends Carol and Mark Fortenberry. Mark noticed a hawk’s nest way up high in the trees in their front area. I’m going to have to come back to watch. Mark is a photographer. I hope he gets some good photos.
When I walked up to the labyrinth, it was 64° and overcast.
Recently, I mentioned that I needed to bring my battery powered yard blower. There was lots of small debris on the labyrinth today. It needed a quick blow.
I saw buds on several of the bushes in the area, the azaleas and the laurel.
Earlier today, I participated in my book study at FPC. Several comments stayed with me today. But I’ll share two quotes:
“We have long been saddled with the notion that mysticism is some otherworldly escape, above and beyond this earthly existence. But it’s not “escapism,” it’s “dive-right-in-ism.” The binary mind is just unable to see wholeness. It might see an individual’s unique gift that we each possess, but that will always be secondary to “wholeness.” The great equalizer is that we all share this one gift: our true selves in loving. Therein lies our wholeness.” … “When we embrace relational wholeness at HBI, our divisions tremble. When we all aspire to be on the lookout for the secret beauty in each other, separation is a folly. My friend, the late Senator Paul Wellstone, used to say, “We all do better, when we all do better.” Same thing. Then the goal is not holiness, but more like the Buddhist notion to engage in the wholesome. Not Little House on the Prairie wholesome, but a profound sense that our being whole is indeed beauty-full and God’s hope for us. Listening to and receiving people is wholesome. Yet we think that our listening needs to produce a result. But the listening is the result. I met a man who volunteered in prisons and brought the Kairos retreat program inside. They seemed to have a mantra that kept the volunteers centered where they needed to be: “Listen, listen… Love, love.” If we receive love, we are all brought to a place of mutual vulnerability. Suddenly, there is room for everybody. Even for number two on the FBI’s most wanted list.”
In the second quote, Boyle references “Kairos retreat program.” I’m not sure what that is … appears to be something offered in catholic high schools and colleges/universities. Kairos is a favorite word … “Kairos is the ancient Greek word for the opportune moment, the special season, and the right time. It’s the time when God acts, and we respond.”
And my Chartres scarf? I bought it in the gift shop at Chartres. It’s a favorite. Polyester, I’m sure. I’d be upset if I lost it.
“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2022 Labyrinth Walks, 2022 Lenten Labyrinth Walks (9/40), Myers Park Baptist Church – Charlotte NC:
It has been a long day. So it was late and I was running errands with Albert. But I knew I needed to fit in a walk.
The weather is turning cold. It was 48°, but it felt colder. It was very overcast. And it felt like it was about to rain.
I was approximately 5 miles from where I walked yesterday. But there was not a flower blooming in this garden. Nor have they done any fluffing of the garden with pine straw. The trees have not begun to green out. It made for a somber walk.
I was watching Albert very closely as I walked. His nose was up and he was very interested in getting a sniff of all the creatures, adults, children, squirrels and birds. His ears kept perking up, too. These were not his usual smells and sounds. The birds were especially noisy. And there were lots of people out walking their dogs… And babies…
In the last week, on multiple occasions within the context of a discussion about Christian healing, I have been reminded to greet people with the phrase “namaste.” Greg Boyle in his “The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness” said: “‘Namaste, which means: ‘I greet the Holy One in you.’ I acknowledge the fullness of God and the solid goodness at your core.” In a similar vein, Boyle references the Zulu custom: “Exactly like the Zulu greeting. When you meet and welcome someone, you say, ‘I see you.’ The other person says, ‘Now that you see me, I’m here.’ You’re here. You’re here.”
I was reminded through FB memories that, on this date in 2020, I shared a Lenten Labyrinth Walk with Martha Wayt. If there ever was a woman who saw the good in people and shared it with that person, it was Mrs. Wayt. It really was a delightful walk … May her memory be for a blessing. Here is my blogpost: https://teaguenc.wordpress.com/2020/03/10/3-10-20-movie-or-book/
I greet and see the holy one in you. That’s a wonderful greeting and blessing.
“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2022 Labyrinth Walks, 2022 Lenten Labyrinth Walks (3/40), Myers Park Baptist Church – Charlotte NC:
I went to a garden center this morning and purchased some lettuces, and a few herbs to start in my herb garden. John got some broccoli and a few other things for his garden. We have his and her gardens.
It was cooler today, 66°, and I liked it. 80° is too warm for early March.
So the outfit that I have on, pretty much the same uniform that I had on yesterday, was more appropriate.
Overall, it was a gorgeous day.
There was a lot of shadow work today, my shadow, on the labyrinth. At this time of day, this labyrinth was almost in full sun.
There were no flowers on the grounds of Myers Park Baptist, yet. But, the grass was a bright green today.. Spring is coming.
I heard birds chirping, several different types. And there was a siren, no just heavy duty blowing equipment in the distance making a strong whirring sound.
As I made the turns, when I could see the part of the garden that faced Roswell, I saw a tulip tree in full bloom, no, slightly beyond bloom. I would’ve missed it if I hadn’t come today.
For lent, I’m doing a couple group studies with my church. I mentioned yesterday that we are studying Greg Boyle’s “The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness.” In another, we are studying “Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection” by Jessica Richie and Kate Bowler.
On my own, I am continuing my study of labyrinths and I am doing a 40 day Enneagram study, Forty Days on Being a Six: ENNEAGRAM DAILY REFLECTIONS by Tara Beth Leach
It is probably more religious-based than I like… But, it puts much of my thoughts about enneagram 6s into 40 short bites.
Obviously, I am a six. The first study was entitled “I am loved.” The second, “Electric Joy” and the third “Redeemed” … Very interesting to me is that the first two deal with my vision words for 2021 and 2022. Furthermore, the first one, “I Am Loved,” goes hand-in-hand with a conversation today at Red Boot Way about Step One: I matter. I focused on how loving someone and expressing that love to someone, even as simply as saying, “I love you,” reinforces that someone matters to me. And still, sometimes, this is a tough one for me.
And as I will continue to look for ways in which I feel blessed and which I have the ability to bless others, I found this today: “Blessed are you, who are tired of pretending that raw effort is the secret to perfection. That that which breaks your heart is overcomeable. It’s not. And you know that now.” – Kate Bowler
“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2022 Labyrinth Walks, Myers Park Baptist Church – Charlotte NC:
When I left my house 20 minutes before, it was about 50°. By the time I began walking, it was about 45°. Although the sky was clear, it felt like the weather was quickly changing. It was definitely getting colder quickly.
It was the end of the day, and the sun was playing in the leaves of the evergreen trees and bushes. There were no shadows on the labyrinth.
As I walked, I thought about my day. I had had a delightful visit with my mom, albeit a short one, this morning in Atlanta. My dog Albert and I ran in to say goodbye before we drove back to Charlotte. We had a very nice dinner last night with her. My mom is 95 years old, and although she can still carry on conversations, she gets lost sometimes. But this morning when I said hello to her and told her I had brought my dog with me, her response was, “Albert, come see me.” I had not reminded her of my dog’s name, and it just made me smile. We are dog people.
There should be a special word for dog people. And guess what, there is… The technical term for those who love dogs is Cynophilist. And the love for a dog is called Canophilia. 🙂
“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, 2021 Labyrinth Walks, 2021 Advent Labyrinth Walks, Myers Park Baptist Church – Charlotte NC:
I attended FPC’s Service of Wholeness & Healing. This is a special service, and I always try to attend whether I need it or not. Rev. Anna Dickson used poetry in her meditation. She referenced Wendell Berry’s Sabbaths 2006:
“The song changes by singing into a different song. It sings by falling. The water descending in its old groove wears it new. the words descending to the page render the possible into the actual, by wear, for better or worse, renew the wearied mind. This is only the lowly stream of Camp Branch, but every stream is lowly. Only low in the land does the water flow. It goes to seek the level that is lowest, the silence that gathers many songs, the darkness made of many lights, and then by the sun is raised again into the air.”
Anna closed with a benediction from Jan Richardson: “Beloved is Where We Begin.”
The Service was at 7:30, and afterwards, I had a long chat with a former mentor and friend. This was her first time to come to the service. I have come for years, even when I had a nothing on my heart, but I must’ve come the first time in the year following my father‘s death, so I have tried to come every year.
This year it was in the fellowship hall, rather than the chapel and although it was still quite beautiful, I missed the closeness and the darkness of the chapel. But I truly love the lighting of the candles, the music, and the feeling of the spirit moving through the persons in the room.
It was probably 9 pm by the time I arrived at Myers Park Baptist’s labyrinth. I had known before I left home that I would try to find a labyrinth on my way home. I came to Myers Park Baptist because it was right on my route. And also because it is well lighted.
It was still dark despite something close to a full moon (OK, I looked it up: it’s a waxing gibbous moon at 94%).
There was a single bird chirping.
I saw some beautiful and festive homes. The one right across from the entrance to the labyrinth is decorated primarily in white lights, my favorite, and right down the street, I saw a yard that has some blowups and multicolor lights… not my favorite, but it still lightened my heart to see families enjoying this time of year.
As I walked I reread the Jan Richardson poem used in the benediction.
BELOVED IS WHERE WE BEGIN
If you would enter into the wilderness, do not begin without a blessing.
Do not leave without hearing who you are: Beloved, named by the One who has traveled this path before you.
Do not go without letting it echo in your ears, and if you find it is hard to let it into your heart, do not despair. That is what this journey is for.
I cannot promise this blessing will free you from danger, from fear, from hunger or thirst, from the scorching of sun or the fall of the night.
But I can tell you that on this path there will be help.
I can tell you that on this way there will be rest.
I can tell you that you will know the strange graces that come to our aid only on a road such as this, that fly to meet us bearing comfort and strength, that come alongside us for no other cause than to lean themselves toward our ear and with their curious insistence whisper our name:
Beloved. Beloved. Beloved.
— Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons
I finished up my evening with a drive down Hillside Drive. They do a great job as a community with holiday lights.
“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, Myers Park Baptist Church – Charlotte NC, 2021 Labyrinth Walks:
There are people that notice things. And today when I was looking through my Facebook memories, I realized that a very special mom had reached out to me after one of my labyrinth walks. That special mom realized that I was hurting. I am not sure if I adequately responded. And that same special mom was the reason that I was headed to Atlanta when my car, my father-in-law’s Mercedes, was rear ended and totaled. That car was taken away by the auction company yesterday. So for multiple reasons today, I feel like special people are reaching out and talking to me. So thank you, Carroll Teague, and thank you, Martha Wayt. If nothing else, your love still fills my world.
And speaking of love, today I continued with our discussion of NT Wright‘s “Broken Signposts, “ with my Tuesday Morning Bible Study at First Presbyterian Church here in Charlotte, via zoom. Today, we discussed the second chapter on love. I’ll just quote here because that is what I’m thinking about as I walk:
“Notoriously, the English language here has that one word where the Greeks had at least four, enabling them to distinguish easily between erotic love, affection for places or subjects, human friendship, and that generous self-giving love for which the early Christians picked up what had been a more general word, agapē, and gave it a new, golden meaning. People who write in English about morality or virtue often express regret for this linguistic difficulty. I have done so myself. But there is still something important to ponder about the one-word catchall “love.” The word “love,” whatever its finer shades of meaning, is all about relationship. It is about being drawn out of myself toward something or someone else, in whatever way and with whatever short-or long-term aims or effects. It is about discovering that “I” become more fully “myself” when I am in relationship—even if that relationship might be, for a time at least, with a mountain, a horse, a sunset, a child, a sweetheart, a house, a hospital patient, a colleague, or a neighbor. “Love” is an arm-waving term that indicates that I know in my bones that I need to be part of something larger than myself, something that gives me a sense of coming home, something in which I find warmth, security, meaning, delight, and even a sigh of relief when that comes to expression. That is fine. It’s better to wave your arms vaguely at something than to forget it exists.”
— Broken Signposts: How Christianity Makes Sense of the World by N. T. Wright, https://a.co/85y57DF
It is warmer than I like for this time of year. I have so many friends who adore summer. I am not one of them. Summer comes in last of the four seasons in my book. But I’ll give them the dog days of summer, and I will rejoice when it is 15° cooler and the skies are bright blue and the leaves are turning and falling.
I have been unable to make my usual visits to Atlanta because of a few things going on here as well as there have been multiple lockdowns at my mom’s retirement community Lenbrook. But my sister was able to get her hands on her today and take her down to have her hair done, and I was able to talk to her for a few minutes. I realize that I need to cherish every moment with her. Hopefully, next week, I will be able to get down there.
Earlier today, I was discussing “images of God.“ One of my images is that God is Time and God controls time, and god enters and exits human time as God sees fit. One of the things I have noticed when I walk a labyrinth is that while it is the same path going in and coming out, the time that I experience is very different. As my body releases anxiety, my experience of time changes. But I am walking at essentially the same pace with the same weather. But while externally I sense the same sight, sound and touch experiences in any given walk, my sense of time changes within that approximately 20 minutes. And sometimes it flip-flops from one visit to a labyrinth to the next. For example, today, the walk-in was extremely fast, and the walk out was moderate. Other days, the walk-in can be extremely slow and then the walk out very fast. You tell me…
I did my thing where I closed out my walk by circling clockwise the periphery of the labyrinth, where the lunations are. For me, that symbolizes the re-entry into ordinary time.
One thing I like about this labyrinth is it has several large bushes of rosemary. At the funeral of a family friend, another special mom, several years ago, a friend arranged for sachets with rosemary and this William Shakespeare quote:.
“There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember.”
I still think of that every time I go to a funeral. Maybe I will start taking a rosemary plant and giving it the to the family with a card and the quote.
“Solvitur Ambulando” – It is solved by walking, Myers Park Baptist Church – Charlotte NC, 2021 Labyrinth Walks:
After a delightful brunch at Little Spoons, Carol and I headed for a labyrinth walk. She had never walked MPBC, so off we went.
Carol immediately noticed the lamps that anchor the 4 corners of the labyrinth area. They are pretty cool and an interesting chaotic contrast to the structured pattern of the Chartres labyrinth.
I noticed ants, gnats, and bees. And I heard the nearby traffic, planes above and birds chirping all about.
It was also hot and humid. We need a storm to break the heat.
I enjoyed telling Carol about Tom Schulz the creator of this and two other labyrinths in Charlotte and also about my serendipitous meeting of his brother John in Rome GA.
Carol liked hearing about the piece of stone from the quarry outside of Chartres France that grounds the center of this labyrinth. She reached out and touched it when she reached the center.
I needed some friend time today. I needed some labyrinth time.
Thanks for indulging me, Carol!
And one of my favorite Saturday newsletters shared this quote today:
“I want to beg you, as much as I can, dear sir, to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” – Rainer Maria Rilke
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