My dear friend and recovery coach extraordinaire Kathy Robbins has a passion for designing labyrinths for women in recovery to walk. A labyrinth is an ancient, sacred space, a meandering set of passages that can be seen as a metaphor for our life's journey.
When we physically walk the labyrinth, we enter an opening, follow a pathway that leads into a center, and then turn and retrace our steps until we are back at the beginning. We can't get trapped or lost in a labyrinth, unlike a maze.
Kathy always invites us to walk the labyrinth quietly and slowly, turning inward, calming our mind, and remaining open to receive divine guidance. For those of us who like a little more direction, she tells us to focus on the four r's of walking the labyrinth: remembering who we are, releasing anything getting in the way of who we are, receiving guidance and blessings, and returning to the world with a renewed sense of self, joy, and purpose.
It's an experience to be savored. Much like life.
We don't come out of walking a labyrinth in quite the same state as we go in.