A Labyrinthine Journey: Soon Coming in 3-D

Friday is my day off. I was sitting down just finishing my lunch today
when I heard the back door open and close. I wasn’t expecting anyone,
so I went back to investigate. As I got to the door, the UPS truck was
leaving the driveway. Just outside the door was a 6 foot long box.

My canvas had arrived!

Now the fun can really begin. After Sunday night, I am on vacation for
a week. One of those vacation at home type deals that is good to do
from time to time. And the timing is good. Now rather than just sit at
home and watch a lot of television, I have a project. A really big
project to get started on.

I have three rolls of #10 Duck rolled up in the corner of my living
room. The first thing I will need to do on Monday is work on hemming
them. I certainly can’t sew the hem, so I’ve been looking around for
other ideas. Google searches produced a couple of options. They all
begin with an iron, then they go either toward fabric glue applied
with a hot glue gun or an iron on hem tape. I am leaning toward the
hem tape. I have approximately 36 yards of hems to do. The tape seems
to be less complicated right now. So, Monday morning I will be hitting
the stores finding the right kind of hem tape and I will start on it.

Hopefully, I can get that done sometime on Tuesday. Then the next
part of the fun begins: the pattern. I will have to head over to the
church because I don’t have any space in my house that is 18 foot
by 18 foot. Because I am going to have to lay the entire thing out, then
pencil in the lines for the circuits.

After that, the process of painting begins. That will take a while and
will have to be done a part at a time. I currently have time. I don’t
really need it until the end of July. But I am glad to be starting on
it. (And I still haven’t decided for sure about what color(s) to use)
I have a few things to take care of first before I have to buy the paint.

Right now I know that come Monday, I will be ironing. I think I will
enjoy this vacation.

I know I am strange.

The snow has melted and I am happy to be able to actually walk my
labyrinth again. It is still a bit chilly out there, but as long as I
keep moving (even moving slowly) helps from getting stiff and stuck.

I took a little while yesterday to rake out some of the parking lot
gravel that had been deposited on the labyrinth. Other places in the
yard got a lot more gravel, so I will need to be working on those
places, too.

Yet that isn’t what I was thinking about with the idea of a new
pathway. My plan since last summer was to provide two different
labyrinths for the Five-Day Academy in July that I am on the
leadership team for. I have all the materials for a larger labyrinth
to lay out in a yard with rope and landscape staples. I also want to
provide a smaller labyrinth for inside use. Up until now I haven’t had
a chance to do much with it. Yet, I wasn’t too worried. Painting a
portable labyrinth (especially a smaller one) does take time, but not
months and months.

One of my challenges was coming up with a design. I was toying with
one idea based on a tree design I saw, but it was too simple and I was
having trouble making it more interesting. Then a couple weeks ago I
ran across a reference to a labyrinth design that when I looked I saw
it provided what I was looking for. The
Chalice Labyrinth
of Bob Peach
gives me a smaller design with the interest of the labyr turns
throughout the pathway. I decided that finding a design I liked meant
it was time for me to get started. So I have ordered the canvas and I
am now working on the details of painting a portable labyrinth 18 foot
square (or more likely octagonal in shape after cutting off the
corners).

So, last night I was playing with the idea of painting the labyrinth
the colors of the rainbow. So at the moment, this is the design I am
considering. I still haven’t decided for sure, for sure, but it is
close to that.

I hope the canvas comes this week, then for the early part of my
vacation next week, I can get started on drawing and painting.

I haven’t decided what for sure to do with the Chalice part of the
labyrinth yet. Still searching for inspiration on that part, but that
can wait until nearer the end.

I will certainly keep you updated.

I wrote yesterday that I was missing my labyrinth. It has been too cold
or too much snow to think about spending much time
walking, standing, sitting, and praying in the back yard (as I write,
the outside temperature is 2. (Yes Two degrees above 0 F)).

I needed to do a few things today without distraction (the danger with
me doing much computer work is that it tends to consume time and focus).
One of the best benefits I have found so far in walking my labyrinth is
that it gives me the opportunity to change my focus. While walking I am
forced to ignore all distractions and spend it in God’s presence. Hard
to do that in the midst of all the distractions.

Then this morning I remembered that I have another labyrinth. One that I
bought last summer and used until I built my backyard one. The labyrinth
pattern is traced on a plastic pattern and covered with sand. To
walk the labyrinth, you trace the pattern through the sand.
There is enough of a layer of sand on top, that you really have to slow
down and focus to stay on the path. So I entered the sand
labyrinth to gain help in setting aside the distractions so I can get
done what is needed.

So far so good. And now it is time to get back to Do the Next
thing.

It rained all night so the grass was wet this morning. But the sun has
been trying to come out and the wind has been blowing. So this
afternoon I was able to walk the labyrinth without worrying about my
shoes getting too wet.

My reflections are continuing along the idea of emptiness. Something
which showed up yesterday in my pray/journaling. The idea is that it
isn’t so much my fears that block me, but my emptiness. A sign that
I’ve been going too long giving spiritual advice without practicing
spiritual life. So focusing on opening the heart and soul so I can be
again filled by the Spirit so I have no problems giving spiritual
advice because it flows from the filling of my own spiritual life.

So walked thinking about emptiness and filling. The start is to
confess my emptiness. To say that is my lack, my hunger, and my
dilemma. Then to turn to God for filling. I can’t fill it with
“greatness” or my relationship with Linda or my work. Those things
have been the ways I’ve emptied myself. I can only be filled by my
relationship with God.

As I left the labyrinth to come back to the office, I saw some
strawberries growing in the patch. A nice surprise. A nice sign.

Sunday was a good day. I made the trip to Creighton Retreat Center (2
1/2 hours each way). It was pretty easy to spot a good place for the
labyrinth. It wasn’t what I had originally thought, but it was
close. It is right in the middle of where everyone will be. A big
space with only a couple trees that could come into play if I choose
to. And at the moment I think I will. There is space for a full size
Chartres even without the trees, but if I move up into the trees then
I can step away from a road. At the moment, I think I will make a
slightly larger Chartres with rope that will go around those two
trees. If I get my stuff set up right then I should be able to put it
down fairly quickly.

On the way home, I found some of the landscape staples at Walmart in
Carroll. So yesterday I finished staking down my rope. I also added a
couple new curves. I ended up crawling on it to pound in the
staples. That hurt after a while.

I did walk yesterday and then used my sand one last night.

When I was walking in the morning, I continued my thinking about
letting go of “greatness” which is a way of letting go of my ego. But
how to do it without losing my Self is the trick. I have a feeling I
will continue working on that one.

Then last night, as I was tracing the Chartres in my sand, I used it
as a prayer tool. Every turn I prayed for a different person. That was
a nice use of it.

Haven’t done anything today. We had quite a bit of rain last night and
I haven’t gone out. It was wet this morning.

I want to try to use it everyday. So I will try to get out there later.

I think I will start a journal, specifically dealing with labyrinth
learnings and experiences.

I was finally able last night, to lay down my rope labyrinth in the
back yard. This is preliminary to the contruction of a more permanent
one. Waiting for inspiration and also available funds to do that. I
wasn’t quite able to really finish it though. I ran out of landscape
staples, but I used some of those marker flags to get it down. Now I
need to get some more staples to really get it more finished. When I
do that, there are a couple changes I will want to make to it
already.

The first couple walks were more aware of the labyrinth itself. Does
it work; do I like it; stuff like that. and yes on both accounts.

Linda watched me lay out the first half of the labyrinth and was also
looking at the idea book. She was interested I think. Hopefully, I can
get a few people interested in using it.

I did walk it this morning, but was still pretty labyrinth
aware. Besides, half-way through Sarah, Mike, and Aiden arrived, so I
stepped out and spent the day with them.

After they left, I walked again. This time, I wanted to remain less
labyrinth-aware and more spiritual journey aware. That after all is
what it is all about.

So far, I’m using Louise Atrell’s purgation, illumination, and
communion modes.

Tonight, focusing on what I am afraid of, what kinds of things are
blocking my own spiritual growth and relationship. Hard to find the
words, but what I ended up focusing on was the fear of not being
important, not being judged worthy. Not sure what I want to be worthy
of, but that is one word that came to heart. I am going to have to
work on this one more, since it ended up being connected to the whole
idea of not feeling happy about the bishop sending us here and the
whole idea of demotion. I don’t want to feel that way.

As I was leaving, it was the idea of embracing my task here. Not being
afraid of actually going out of my way to talk to and meet
people. That is something I am strangely afraid of.

Walked barefoot in the cool grass. It was nice, even if my feet
froze. I’ll do it again, I know.

Tomorrow afternoon, I go to meet with the leadership team at Creighton
to see about building a temporary labyrinth for their 5-day in
October. It will be interesting. At the moment, I am leaning toward a
rope again. What design they will choose, I’m not sure. I will see.

Time for bed.