The Labyrinth This Time of Year

By guest author Nancy Ayer

Visit Veriditas Voice of the Labyrinth

This is the time of year when Nature prepares for hibernation – just as she always has. She will shed what she no longer needs, but which served her well at one time.

This is the time of year when the tree prepares to humble itself – to stand naked and silent against the winter cold. It is brave and fears not. It knows instinctively its own magnificence, which is sure to follow its faded beauty and sacrificial loss.

This is the time of year for us to look closely and become aware of just how in sync with Mother Nature we really are. This is a time of year for us to still our minds.

This is the time of year to discover the labyrinth and how it can hold, support and enfold as only a mother can.

This is the time of year that affords us the chance to reflect, to remember, to mourn those who went before us, and to let go as we walk the labyrinth’s twisting path. When we reach the center it can be like stepping into our own center, our own stillness and source of our personal strength.

This is the time of year when, if we allow it, the labyrinth will provide a safe haven for us to look within. If we peer closely we may realize an old belief system or out dated behavior or thought pattern that may no longer work for us. This is the time to release into the energy of the labyrinth that which is worn. This is the time of year to free ourselves and allow the labyrinth to enfold us against the winter winds of loss or fear of change.

This is the time of year for us to step into the labyrinth, not only to reflect, but to feel and notice our bodies. They, like the labyrinth, speak to us.

This is the time of year to realize just how thin the veil is between life and death, between the old and the new, between those living and those who have passed on, between the past and the present, between what was and what can be. This is the time of year to discover yet accept ourselves just as we are. This is the time of year to realize what it means to be fully human.

This is the time to prepare to gift our beautiful selves with the fresh chance for new possible possibilities. So as the light fades and the leaves drop, this is the time of year to walk the labyrinth. If not now – when?

Follow the labyrinth below with your finger or mouse on the screem, or use the interactive labyrinth meditation at Grace Cathedral.

Chartres style labyrinth