On a Friday afternoon last month, my evening was unexpectedly unplanned. I spontaneously bought tickets for The Nutcracker. It was sublime. Between the energy of a spontaneous decision and the beauty of the ballet, it is a precious memory with my daughter.
One scene continues to invite me into deeper contemplation.
In the dance the dancers link arms and turn in a circle like the spokes on a wheel. The dancers at the center take smaller, slower steps, with every dancer further out, moving a bit more quickly. On the edge, the circumference of the circle, it takes a few more steps, and a little more effort to maintain ballet's grace and beauty.
I like that scene, because it reminds of the first sentence from Richard Rohr’s book Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer.
“We are circumference people, with little access to the center. We live on the boundaries of our own lives…confusing edges with essence, too quickly claiming the superficial as substance…things have fallen apart, and the center does not seem to be holding.”
-Richard Rohr in Everything Belongs The Gift of Contemplative Prayer.
Those sentences feel so…descriptive and recognizable.
My soul recognizes the gifts and invitation of “center living”: peace, clarity, and rootedness. I know the center holds and impacts everything else.
My mind, body, and spirit know all too well the contours and reality of circumference living. If I can not fully articulate, I recognize how easy it is to confuse “edges with essence.”
Center living and circumference living each have a distinct energy and pace. I feel the draw and long for the center, and yet know the reality of confusing “superficial as substance.”
The Nutcracker dancers show me what these words mean. The dancer at the center is steady and slow. She anchors the dance. With every linked arm that moves outward, there is more movement and faster steps. The dancer at the end, the one the audience sees job is complex; she must move faster, more frantically, and yet do it easily. If the dancer in the center moves too fast, it creates an unmanageable (undanceable) situation for the dancer on the edge. What happens or does not happen at the center impacts the entire dance. When the center holds, the whole dance works.
In a more practical, accessible, and bodily way, the labyrinth models this truth, too. When I walk the twisting, turning, predictable, unpredictable labyrinth paths, the outer rings are wide, with many steps and much movements. When I reach the center, after so many turns moving forward and back, there is no place to go. In the center, I can not distract myself with movement, questions, and action. The invitation at the center is to stillness, to sit and let all the movement find rest.
I know that Jane Austen’s opening sentence to Pride and Prejudice, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife," is maybe the most universally known and quoted first sentence. But for me, it’s those niggly, challenging, words from Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer that I can’t seem to let go.
A Blessing For The Labryith Path To The Center
When the call to your center can no longer be ignored or pacified with passable distractions, may you have the courage to follow the labyrinth path to your center. Take off your shoe, let your toes feel the solid ground beneath your feet. Follow with pluck the twists, turns, forward and backward path. When you reach the center, may grace and peace embrace you. And may you be reminded that your center ripples into the world-just as the center dancer impacts every other dancer.
A finger labyrinth is not the same as walking a labyrinth, but it does work! Trace the labyrinth path slowly, with intention, letting your mind, soul, and even body calm as you work towards the center.
The Worldwide Labryinth Locator is a way to find an actual labryinth near you to consider walking.
Lauren Artress has written several books on labyrinths, including Walking A Sacred Path. Read the following short quotes slowly. Notice if a word or phrase catches your attention, sparkles or cause your heart to make a subtle pause. Sit with those words and see if there is an invitation for your soul.
The labyrinth literally reintroduces the experience of walking a clearly defined path. This reminds us that there is a path, a process that brings us to unity, to the center of our beings. In the simple act of walking, the soul finds solace and peace.”
— Lauren Artress
Have I deepened my compassion for my family, my friends, and the strangers who cross my path? Have I lessened my judgments about my loved ones and those I meet? Have I increased my patience with my loved ones and those I meet on the path? Have I found my purpose, and nurtured it, so I can be of service to the world?”
— Lauren Artress
“I wind in and out of people’s lives. Having touched them, I am blessed. Having touched me, they are blessed. Our roots are deepened. Our wings are strengthened. We have given each other grace to live more deeply.”
― Macrina Wiederkehr, Seasons of Your Heart: Prayers and Reflections, Revised and Expanded
Beautiful! Our church recently installed a labyrinth that looks like the one in your picture, dedicating it just last week. I think I will go walk it Tuesday afternoon. ❤️