For at least twenty years, I have enjoyed walking labyrinths. Labyrinths are maze-like structures that have been used as spiritual tools for centuries. For the past seven years, I’ve been walking labyrinths throughout the northeastern United States, and blogging about them. To learn more about labyrinths, check out this page at the Labyrinth Society. To find labyrinths near you, try the Worldwide Labyrinth Locator.

I arrived at First United Methodist Church in Phoenixville, PA for my third labyrinth of the day. The labyrinth there is very new, just built in 2025. It’s a small one, just 3-circuits, classical style. The path is small stones, and the walls are made of brick.

Driving here, I wasn’t sure what I’d ask about, so I was happy to see it was a small labyrinth. Simple questions fit well in small labyrinths! As I knew I was returning in just a few days from this self-directed two-week “retreat,” I thought I’d ask a simple question:

What else should I be doing as I re-enter?

I had already determined this morning that I’d be adding some “pondering” time to my daily routine. Now I wondered if there was anything else I wanted to take with me back to “normal life.”

The answer came quickly, and was simply: Go slow. The stones in this labyrinth are so deep, almost like walking on a rocky beach. Because of this, my footsteps were slow in the labyrinth, a reminder to me to take everything slowly right now. There is no hurry for anything.

I will still have time to do what’s important. Nothing needs to be rushed. At church, at home, processing this retreat, all of it. Go slow.

That feels good, and right.