The Wedding and The Labyrinth

July 21st, 2008

I just want to start by saying congratulations to my friends Janet and Dan, who were married this past weekend in a beautiful ceremony at Light on the Hill Retreat Center in upstate NY. What a great day we had! If you have a moment, please send a blessing of peace and joy to them as they continue on their journey together.

After the wedding was over, a bunch of us volunteered to lay stones for a new labyrinth on the property.

“The labyrinth is an archetypal tool for harmonizing movements of the body, turns of the mind – a self-discovery of the human spirit. Throughout the centuries and the globe, in turf and in stone, walking a labyrinth has functioned as a symbolic representation of life’s quest. To walk the labyrinth is to wind along a clear universal path to the center area, then to retrace the same steps outward, guided by the circuit path. People use a labyrinth: at times of uncertainty, when facing an important decision, for healing emotional wounds, during illness and bereavement, when awestruck by joy or to do their spiritual practices.” LOH

There are few things more satisfying than when friends and strangers come together united in purpose and focused on a common goal. Together we laid rocks to mark the paths of the labyrinth. In the labyrinth, sometimes it seems as though you’re very close to the center; the goal, or the end of the path. Very quickly you find that you’ve turned towards the farthest outer circle, and the journey can feel long indeed. Ultimately, you reach the center, only to realize that the journey isn’t really over – A labyrinth is not a maze. You do not enter on one side, and exit the other. The labyrinth has only one way in and the same way out. From your center, you must begin retracing your steps out again – though from a different vantage point – only to arrive exactly where you started in the first place.

Such is the great life journey and every smaller journey we make in between. My musical journey is no exception. Is your life like a labyrinth too?

Much Love!
Joe