“This pandemic, in a very different way, has been a broken elevator that has stopped us all from experiencing life in the expected way…”
This is a direct quote from my friend and teacher Allen Proctor after reading yesterday’s post. He is the executive director of the Haden Institute where I studied to become a certified spiritual director.
I found his words to be such a profound insight. It also reminded me once again that I am not alone in feeling stuck through this Covid mess.
Maybe it’s time for us all to get a bit of a rhythm back now that the vaccines are coming fast and furious.
Maybe we are all getting our elevators fixed.
As for me, here is what I am doing to try and get back in the track.
First and foremost, I have decided that the first thing not to do each day is turn on my TV. Once it is on there seems to be no going back for me.
Instead, the first thing I am doing is a 15 to 30 minute meditation. I do this to quiet myself, focus on the now, hone in on my breathing, talk to and hopefully hear the voice of God.
Then I am starting to write; hence these blogs. I am finding that blogging is a lot like journaling for me. It helps me to get my thoughts out and down on paper. And being the artist that I am, I need these thoughts to see the light of day. (So by reading and interacting with these thoughts, you are helping me)
I have also become a part of a labyrinth group/community. (Veriditas.org) It is there that I found out that last Saturday was World Labyrinth day. So Erinn and I got ready and went down to the accessible Labyrinth not far from here and had a labyrinth date.
I love the labyrinth because it is different than a maze in that there are no roadblocks to you getting to your destination. If you follow the path, which is very wind-y and sometimes makes you feel like you are going the wrong way, you end up at the center.
This time, most of the labyrinth was in the shade but a few parts of it were in sun. I found my journey towards the centre to be profound in that this is what I focused on. When I was in the shade, it felt quite cold and dark. but I knew I needed to be there and go through that in order to get to the center. I found myself praying and meditating on the knowledge that I needed to go through some dark times in order to get to where I am going.
I also sometimes found myself in the full sun. It was warm here and very bright. It was in these small corners of the labyrinth that I wanted to go very slow and sometimes even stop to enjoy the light and warmth. This also reminded me that on my way to the center, there will be some important times to stop and enjoy the warm sunlight.
The hard part about being in the light however was that in order to keep getting to the centre I knew I needed to pass from the light into the shadow. This was the path that I needed to take and I had to find the strength to keep going.
So I did.
And on towards the centre I kept going. Sometimes in the shade and shadows, and other times in the warmth and sun. Finally I ended up at the centre where I stayed and reflected on the journey for a moment.
This particular labyrinth experience is proving to be very important to me as I now go about creating a new rhythm. Sometimes I will be in the sun and warmth and other times it will be dark, cold, and confusing. But all along the way I know that I am headed to the center; to God.
And I want no other place but this.
No matter what it costs.
I hope and pray that we can all get our elevators out of the basement into the light.