Walking the Labrynith: Day 6 - 30 Day Challenge

I have “Walked the Labyrinth” many times in my life in many cities in the world, and yet, each time I walk one, it feels as if I am walking for the very first time. “Walking the Labyrinth” is used to help one achieve a contemplative state – something about moving beyond left/right brain separations and the endless chatter that tends to fill up our thinking. Walking along the winding long and short turns that comprise the inherent pattern of the Labrynith, one can quickly experience an inner sense of disorientation and the loss of an outer sense of direction. Labyrinth walking is a deep inner journey.

 I composed the poem in this post after walking a dirt and stone Labrynith on the grounds of a retreat center that borders a Northern portion of the Apalacian Trail. I was attending the retreat, billed as a poetry retreat, after an especially intense period of work. In my naivety, I thought that the retreat facilitator would read a poem to the participants and then we would meditate on the poem. Boy, was I wrong about that! We were actually expected to compose our own poems and I had never written a poem before the retreat – a few haikus, but never a whole poem. I was completely surprised at how much I loved the retreat and writing poetry.

I dedicate my Labrynith poem to my father, who expressed his creative side when he was alive through the writing of many poems.

 

LABRYNITH

Beginning at the ending,

Ending at the beginning,
Each step the first step, the last step, the only step.

Beginning at the ending,

Ending at the beginning,
Attention, distraction, disorientation.
Where am I?
Beginning? Ending?
Attention, distraction, disorientation.
Where am I?
Near? Far?

Beginning at the ending,

Ending at the beginning,
Each step the only step.
Presence rising with each step,
Dancing with revelations,
Inner landscapes shifting,
Transforming.

Each step the first step, the last step, the only step.

Where am I?
Who am I?
I am the question, the answer, confusion, clarity, the Zen Koan.
Where am I?
I am here, right now, perfect, enough.

 Janet