Labyrinth

My neighbors Nancy and Libby came down to visit this afternoon.  Although Libby has watched my pets for me on occasion, I haven't seen Nancy (her mother) much at all, even though we live four houses apart.  Strange how our busy lives make that happen.  But it was wonderful to have some time to catch up with her.

Nancy noticed a book by Thich Nhat Hanh on my coffee table.  Peace Is Every Step:  The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life.  My older daughter gave it to me a year or so ago, but I pulled it out the other day to reread as I struggle with the issue of what to do about a sick cat.  Now, it is probably important to say here that I love the idea of yoga and meditation, but I fall short of actually practicing them.  I have always said that I pretend to do yoga.  And the extent of my meditation practice is just to be mindful of breathing in and breathing out.

Nancy told me that she has a labyrinth and that she uses it as a conduit to prayer.  I was somewhat fascinated by what she was describing to me, so I did a little research on labyrinths after she left.  The simplest definition is "a single non-branching path which leads to the center" but upon further research, I discovered that a labyrinth can be symbolic of a pilgrimage.  One can walk the path, ascending toward salvation or enlightenment.

But then it can get more complicated. In Plato's dialogue Euthydemus, Socrates describes the labyrinthine line of a logical argument:  "Then it seemed like falling into a labyrinth: we thought we were at the finish, but our way bent round and we found ourselves as it were back at the beginning, and just as far from that which we were seeking at first." 

And that pretty much sums up how I feel about this blog.  Sixty days in, and I feel at the end of every day as if I am back at the beginning.  I am traveling this path in order to "ascend" toward "salvation or enlightenment."  In other words, I am hoping that falling in love every day will help me to find love in every day.  But every day, I find myself back at the beginning, starting all over again.

Maybe this is the way it is supposed to be.  I don't know yet.  But having no other choice now, I am in love with the labyrinth and ever hopeful that I will find the center and maybe get to stay there, at least for a little while.  Stay tuned.