There is a beautiful labyrinth just outside of the Eaton’s Centre. Right in the middle of the rush and din of downtown Toronto in a sheltered courtyard. A tiny place of respite where you can walk relatively undisturbed…..and with absolutely no creepy puppets anywhere to be seen.
If you’ve never experienced a labyrinth, it’s a very soothing and meditative creation. The idea; after having chosen a prayer, a beneficial thought, a mental task of sorts, you enter a serpentine path and walk its winding lines while encouraging the mind to stay present to the walk at hand and the mental note you’ve chosen to rest your focus upon.
It’s very relaxing and potentially centering. The kicker? Once you get to the middle of the labyrinth, you have to follow the same path out. Two contemplative strolls for the price of one 😉
Not only is it patience inducing and character revealing, it has the possibility to be very therapeutic.
I decided to walk the labyrinth on one of the last days of 2019. Right before entering the maze I chose two very deliberate things to ponder;
1) Choose fierce kindness (especially towards self)
2) Let go of burdens that were never mine to bear. (Work through the over active empathy. Let that sh*t go!)
While extremely helpful to contemplate these things, I also found myself considering where I would be in 10 years — what with all this persistent 2020 decade talk.
I abruptly and unexpectedly found myself pushing aside the 10 year plans and goals I’d been mulling over in previous days. I acknowledged them as good and healthy mile stones. However, what caught me off guard was how loud my heart became. I carry a mini journal with me at all times and as the words poured out from my intuitive center this is what my heart ached to say. They spilled onto the tiny pages as I attempted to write and walk;
In ten years….
I want to be a kinder version of myself
A more patient version of myself
A more giving version of myself
A more loving version of myself, towards others and myself.Â
Play more
Worry less
Carry that which is mine to bear, let go of all that is not.
…what does freedom look like to me….
Let the zeitgeist inform you, not control you
Stay true to, and swim in eternal truths.
(And when I stood at the center of the maze I both heard and forced the words *you are enough*).
I won’t wait ten years to walk the labyrinth again. Pretty sure I’ll be doing it more regularly to offer my heart more chances to speak its truths and longings. The ones that came to light this most recent trip were undeniably, exactly what I needed to hear.
So as we head into this next decade, I will let my head, heart and spirit work together to keep me hopefully better informed as I navigate the labyrinth of this crazy, lovely life.
