I enjoy walking labyrinths. Labyrinths are maze-like structures that have been used as spiritual tools for centuries. There are many of them around, and I am in the habit of trying to visit a lot of them. For more information about labyrinths, check out The Labyrinth Society. Find where labyrinths are in your area at the Worldwide Labyrinth Locator.

This is a unique labyrinth to me, in that I personally know someone who was instrumental in its creation. I’ve known Marlane for many years, since we were both Christian Education directors serving in Lutheran congregations. (Marlane has since retired, and I have since become a pastor.) I remember that Marlane has loved labyrinths for a very long time; I remember her once telling me that she often led a group from her church to travel and visit labyrinths. So, I was not surprised to find that there was a labyrinth at St. Paul’s.

I didn’t drive out to Douglassville today with the intention of walking this labyrinth. Rather, I was hiking at nearby French Creek State Park, walking there with a dear friend, my oldest friend Steve. (We’ve been very close friends for over forty years now.) We stopped at a restaurant in Douglassville for lunch afterward, and as we parted ways, I remembered that I hadn’t yet walked this labyrinth. So I did.

This labyrinth is a 7-circuit Chartres-style, with brick walls and stone path. It’s in a meditation garden that also contains a columbarium (a place where cremated ashes can be buried).

It was very easy to discern what question to bring into this labyrinth. Recently, several people have suggested that my labyrinth walks could be the focus of my next book. (In case you missed my first book, learn about it here.) But I’ve had a very hard time figuring out just how to do that. Would these blog posts really make a compelling book? What would I have to do to turn them into something more long-form? So the question I brought in was, “What is my next step in labyrinth writing?”

The answer came quickly. Perhaps because of my walk today with Steve, perhaps because of thoughts about Marlane, the answer I heard was, “People.” The piece I need to focus on next in my labyrinth writing is people. What did this mean, I wondered? My first thought was that I could reach out to the churches and other organizations where labyrinths are found, and try to get contact info for someone who was involved in that labyrinth’s creation. I could interview them, talk about what labyrinths meant to them. Perhaps that would form part of the book. But I flinched a bit from that idea. I’m not sure I want to put that kind of effort into interviews — and besides, my writing is always about me, not about other people. Or is that precisely why I should move into talking with other people? Is the time ripe for that?

Then I wondered about something I’d written about ten years ago when I took a graduate course at seminary on Spirituality. I wrote my final paper for the course about labyrinths, in particular how the walls of the labyrinth could be a metaphor for all the people in our lives who give us direction and guidance in our lives, showing us the way. I could try to identify and discuss the people who have been my labyrinth walls over the years.

Then I wondered about someone who recently offered to share some of her labyrinth materials and books with me, whom I’ll be meeting about that soon. Perhaps I should wait until then to see where this takes me.

There’s a lot up in the air right now, but one way or another, my labyrinth journey might be getting even more interesting soon…