“But you who were born of the mountains and the forests and the seas can find their prayer in your heart
And if you listen in the stillness of the night you shall hear them [speak] in silence…”
Kahlil Gibran, THE PROPHET
What do we seek, when we step onto the spiral path? A blessing sometimes, or an answer to a question. Sometimes we simply seek a moment of peace, a moment out of time, outside the busy aspects of our lives when we can reflect in silence and find a moment to ourselves when no one and nothing makes demands on us.
As the New Year begins, it is a lovely time to seek the solace of the labyrinth, to examine our own souls, to ask ourselves questions as we enter the circle, to wait for their answer. Sometimes a clear answer comes, and sometimes we are greeted only by silence.
But silence is an answer too, perhaps a better answer than something more concrete, if we learn to listen to it. The silence of the labyrinth can teach us to hear ourselves better, to hear our answers when we need them. The best answers are born in silence, whether they be solutions to a problem, the path out of a challenge, or a way to make a piece of art better.
We step into the labyrinth for all these reasons, and for none of them. When we come into that sacred space and face ourselves in silence, sometimes we find answers that we were not even seeking. And that, for me, is one of the most exciting things of all. Unsought answers lead to better questions, to better work, to a better life.
Octavio Paz wrote that “Solitude is the profoundest fact of the human condition. Man is the only being who knows he is alone, and the only one who seeks out another.” But, often, most answers really come in the silence, away from the company of others. You do have to go into the labyrinth, and walk the walk alone.
I enjoyed the quiet of this post, Christy.
Thank you for that quote Adelaida. The idea of the labyrinth spoke to me today, as it so often does. I am happy that it spoke to you, too.