The Journey, not the Destination
Aug. 12th, 2011 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_roseI've never walked a true labyrinth - remember, a laybrinth is not a maze. It has one entrance that is also the exit. It has only one path that you follow into the centre and back again. It's not about solving a puzzle, it is about a meditation on what is. It can be deeply spiritual, though it is non-religious. It is reminiscent of some Celtic patterns and their symbolism of the interconnectedness and eternal nature of all things.
An article I read together talks about a labyrinth and what the author learnt from walking it. She describes the slow, frustrating journey inwards; the joy of reaching the centre; the temptation some see in leaving via a shortcut instead of slowly wending their way back through the winding lanes.
She sums up her experience thus:
This seems like something I need to learn. When I said things were falling apart, when I say that I feel I'm losing ground instead of making progress, when I can't see a way forward, perhaps I need to think on this. The spiral nature of things is a vital part of my belief system. It's one I need to remember when I'm on the downward turns.
An article I read together talks about a labyrinth and what the author learnt from walking it. She describes the slow, frustrating journey inwards; the joy of reaching the centre; the temptation some see in leaving via a shortcut instead of slowly wending their way back through the winding lanes.
She sums up her experience thus:
Walking the labyrinth was a potent reminder to me that we often feel like we’re walking in circles, getting nowhere. We feel like we’re doubling back, returning to where we were long ago, feeling like we’re wasting our time, failing to progress, getting lost.
But even if you get there, the journey keeps going. The goal is not the end of the journey, but the beginning. So why not embrace the journey and release attachment to the destination?
This seems like something I need to learn. When I said things were falling apart, when I say that I feel I'm losing ground instead of making progress, when I can't see a way forward, perhaps I need to think on this. The spiral nature of things is a vital part of my belief system. It's one I need to remember when I'm on the downward turns.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 04:29 pm (UTC)This kind of reminds me of another quote from Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series: "I had a professor once...who taught the introduction to tactical engineering course. He said he never bothered changing his tests from term to term to prevent cheating, because while the questions were always the same, the answers changed. I'd thought he was joking."
I like the spiral metaphor - that you may end up in the same place you started, but it isn't the same because you have changed.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 06:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 05:37 pm (UTC)During the difficult times, it's hard for me to step back from my hopelessness, and to use my situation as an opportunity to learn more about myself.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-12 06:03 pm (UTC)