Revisiting

Visiting Saffron Walden with a dear friend yesterday  gave me the chance
to see the familiar labyrinth with fresh eyes and an open heart.

We walk together
following the old pathways,
peace blows in the breeze.

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Attention to the Path

Meandering paths
crisscross the planet, always
leading home to Self.

One of the deepest gifts we can give in this world is our attention — our full, open-hearted attention. And yet, it can be a hard thing to do in our busy lives when society often insists on judging us by our ability to multi-task with ease and grace. In reality, however, ease and grace come from an altogether different source, an inner place where we can take the time to listen to ourselves, to Spirit, and to those who matter to our hearts.

Because we travel so much, I’ve learned that I like to pay attention to Place and Person, which means I don’t like answering the phone and responding to emails when I’m spending time with a friend, and that I need to retreat into Quiet in order to take in the sights and sounds of Place when I am exploring new terrain or making pilgrimage to sacred sites. What works for me is to write on a daily basis, no matter where I am, because it is my writing that helps me to make sense of my surroundings and recogize my community. But then I wait until I get home to distill meaning and polish my writing. So it is only now that I have returned to the routine of my daily life that I am ready to write here about the travel delights that we’ve just experienced. I so appreciate the immediacy of posts from people who can process and publish more quickly, but I am also coming to an understanding that I, personally, work more slowly. Thus, I apologize for the time delay, but hope that what I say here will reflect my deepening understanding of the Path. I will be sharing the stories of our recent journeys gradually over the coming days, both here and on our Labyrinthos blog… I hope you’ll join me!

Please visit the Friday rendezvous of the
haiku my heart community at recuerda mi corazon

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Spring in our Steps

England seems to have lost its Spring this year, but my calendar tells me it is May despite the weather. My foot is healing, and today we are off on a long-awaited adventure. We will meet up with our good friend Lea Goode-Harris in a few hours, then take the night ferry to the Netherlands. Tomorrow is World Labyrinth Day, and Jeff will be speaking at the Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam. From there, we will drive down the Dutch/Belgian/French coastline, returning to England through the Eurotunnel on Tuesday night. We plan to explore several labyrinths, rendezyous with old friends and new, and enjoy lots of good food! So it seems the season is blossoming despite the weather…

Cold rain turns colder,
Only my heart feels the warmth
of the Beltane fire!

Please visit the Friday rendezvous of the
haiku my heart community at recuerda mi corazon

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A Little Labyrinth Magic

My ankle must be healing…. I am beginning to think clearly and care about things again. Last night as I was looking through the photos on Jeff’s camera, I found the one I’ve been wishing I had taken; greeting us as we arrived at the hospital in Glastonbury was this carved stone:

No kidding!

Despite the pain and drama,  this bit of welcoming magic assured me that this seeming accident must surely hold some deeper meaning for me to discover….

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Thanks for the Magic!

Magic doesn’t always happen of its own accord… sometimes a lot of behind-the-scenes commitment and hard work goes into its creation. And such was the case with last week’s Saffron Walden Maze Festival. Make no mistake, there was plenty of serendipity as carefully constructed plans fell into place and the event took on a life of its own… but the planning was admirably careful and thorough. And at the end of it all, as we were gathering on the Common for one last time, this woman, chief instigator Barbara Wilcox, was still smiling:

The final evening found us celebrating new friendships and good memories as we munched on local delicacies like Giggly Pig sausages and Saffron Walden Ice Cream, and enjoyed a bit of silliness with Wellie Wanging contests, hay bale mazes, and fancy dress shenanigans. Even the Market Cross was gussied up for the night with recycled maze knitting!

One last delight awaited us as the evening shadows gathered and darkness fell. Amidst the twinkle of hundreds of tiny candles, we thanked the organizers and bid the maze goodnight…

Until we meet again!

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Performance Art

To my mind, there is no doubt that the labyrinth symbol invites and thrives on creativity. As always seems to happen when labyrinth enthusiasts gather and scheme, the Saffron Walden Maze Festival grew beyond its organizers’ wildest dreams as imaginations fired and ideas poured in. The week became a virtual feast of artistic endeavour and participation.

Art Exhibits

Garden Tours

And even a wandering Minotaur

As Sunday grew to a close, and people had exhausted themselves with tours, concerts, lectures, labyrinth walks, art exhibits and maze-y games of all sorts, festival goers gathered at the turf maze once more to enjoy the premier performance of  Lost and Found, a short play written by Alex Everard, especially for this event.

Lost and Found explores the past and present of Europe’s largest surviving ancient turf maze, but also the maze of life which we are all trying to find the centre of. Four people seek different things within the Turf Maze, but will they find what they are looking for, or something else entirely?

The play was impressive, hitting all the right notes… it was timely, entertaining, and well-performed by the Sheer Drop Theatre group. It was also well-researched and factually accurate, something we don’t see all that often amongst labyrinth literature. I was impressed by two things about the playwright: her enthusiasm and her commitment to clarity. It isn’t easy to  weave together the various threads of labyrinth interest without coming across as critical of one or more of the perspectives.

And amazingly, even the dicey British weather cooperated, blessing us with one of the most beautiful summer evenings of the year. What a lovely way to enjoy community and conviviality!

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Running the Maze!

Saturday’s Knitted Maze at the Saffron Walden Maze Festival gave way to more traditional activities on Sunday.

Having spent much of Saturday afternoon researching historical documents about the turf maze and the way it has been maintained and used over the centuries, we were ready to see the historic racing reenacted, twenty-first century style. The four corners (sometimes called the bastions), were marked with their traditional designations of the large towns that lie in those approximate directions: Chelmsford, Stortford, Cambridge and Newmarket, with the centre marked as Waterloo. Following the rules recorded in 1816, racers of all ages were given time cards before they set out at one-minute intervals to navigate the path, nearly a mile in length. Of course, everyone wanted to beat the previous record of 8-1/2 minutes which was set in 1980 after the latest restoration and race reenactment.

Recognize this contestant?

He didn’t win. According to him, it’s harder than you might think even though his time of 9 minutes 38 seconds was for a while the leading time for the seniors category! And I must say, he does seem inordinately proud of the participation medal he was awarded. The win went to a long-legged young man, Mike Sharp, who deserved to win with his mind boggling time of just 7 minutes 28 seconds. He was so delighted that I think we may have managed to convert a new maze aficionado.

I didn’t race. I was in a quiet mood, feeling quite pensive, so I watched the eager contingent of racers from the bank overlooking the maze and just daydreamed. And knitted. For hours. And a funny thing happened… without my setting foot on its pathways, the labyrinth still managed to work its magic on me so that by the time I left, I felt calmed, cheered, inspired. My friend Emily reminds me that sitting by the well can be as restorative as being in the water.

And so it was.

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Maze Knitted!

It was a-maze-ing! I know that the Knitted Maze was only one of the attractions of Saffron Walden’s weeklong Maze Festival, and as a knitter I might be a bit biased… but I was profoundly moved by the experience of seeing the grand old turf maze swathed in handcrafted fibre. In this case, the turf labyrinth, which is one of 8 surviving historical examples here in England, is called a maze despite the fact that it is actually labyrinth by modern definition… it has a single path leading all the way to the center, with no choices or dead ends.

It made for a stunning view, looking on from the raised banks surrounding the labyrinth… long strips of color covering the walls and flanking the paths, each section showcasing someone’s handwork. Walking the paths of the maze brought me in close enough to appreciate each person’s choices and contribution of colour, pattern, and fibre.  

Some bits were plain

some fancy,

 and some still in progress….

I wanted to wander endlessly, appreciating, enjoying the detail… but then stepping away to view it as a whole brought a new perspective, and I felt like I was looking at a long line of unique characters holding hands to provide a show for the audience. For me, it was a tangible experience of individuality blending into cohesive community. It was quite marvelous to witness the results of  personal creativity weaving into a new and wider tale. Each piece told a story which gave richness and depth to the overall effect.

As a knitter, I was pleased with my involvement, and proud of my bit… but to be honest, the most exciting part of my participation was watching my little piece take on a life of its own, down there in the far corner.

And the rest of the weekend… equally wonderful, colorful, and diverse! As always the labyrinth wove its own magic as disparate characters, interests and expressions came together in celebration of an age-old symbol.

Curious about just who might dream up such a zany project? Meet Sophie, the Wonder Woman behind it all…

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Calling All Labyrinth Knitters

As my way of inching back toward the blogland community, I want to invite my reader friends to knit a labyrinth with me.

 Yes, really!

A big one!

Seriously.

Big enough to cover this:

The good people of Saffron Walden are planning a fabulous Maze Festival to be held in late August…. the Maze is the name of the big turf labyrinth on the common in the centre of town. Because it is less than an hour away from us, we consider it our local labyrinth, and visit it as often as possible. The festival week promises to be filled with fun and unique activities, but my ears really perked up when I was introduced to Sophie of Twist Yarns who is filled-to-bursting with good ideas.  Amongst her many projects is a Knitted Maze that will feature in the festival. She is looking for creative people to help her knit a mile of knitting to cover the maze. She needs knitted, crocheted, felted and/or sewn pieces which are approximately 9 inches wide, and can be as long or short as you like. You can use any material and any stitch for this celebration of textile crafts. Feel free to contact Sophie through her website with questions or knitted offerings — .

Please join the fun by helping this great marriage of Knitting and Labyrinths — two of my greatest loves!

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Support

Support comes in many forms…. From the outset, our plans felt blessed by synchronicity and grace. With our iPhones giving us on-road accessibility, friendly text messages and emails continued to give us the almost uncanny support that began when we first made the decision to walk.

The morning after we decided to make this walk, a little package dropped through my letter box; inside was a set of beautiful prayer beads, complete with a scallop shell, that would support me in my spiritual preparation. Such signs of support continued through every stage of our planning and our journey. With no conscious planning, a very special spiritual mentor just  “happened” to be in Chartres the week we walked, and was on hand to greet us with ceremony and gifts when we arrived. Another mutual friend stepped up to support me through a moment of difficult challenge.  Perhaps more than ever before, I was aware of how blessed I am by the people in my life.

On Thursday evening we were invited by a private group to join them in their private candlelight labyrinth walk and prayer circle in the cathedral. What magic!

Some of you burned candles for us, some walked labyrinths, others sent messages of support and dedicated some of your activities in support of our pilgrimage. As you prayed for us, we were also thinking of you, weaving you into fabric of our walk and appreciating your presence in our lives.

Several friends sent little tokens for us to carry — sweet grass for smudging…  small bags of affirmations to support and inspire us on the days we walked, one to be drawn at random morning, noon and night…  an angel card for each of us  — Lisa’s was Trust; mine was Release, and I felt her close as she encouraged me onwards during my quiet hours of walking…

Some of the clothing we wore was borrowed, as was  some of our equipment, a seemingly small thing, but something I thought a lot about as I felt my walk being linked to dear friends and earlier walks. On some deep level I felt their experiences informing and shaping mine. Connection is a precious gift!

And I want to mention another kind of support… trekking poles. Pure magic! I had never walked with poles before, but so many people had recommended them that I decided to give them a go, imagining myself with a traditional Pilgrim’s Staff. I was worried about losing my balance or tripping over my own feet if I got tired or hungry. Having heard that poles give a full body workout, I assumed one pulled oneself along with the poles, but what I found is that they sort of walk themselves, moving with the movements of my hip. I was enchanted by their companionship and rhythm.

Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.  — George Fox

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