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 nine 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.

It was a Wednesday, and I was driving through Westchester County, New York, walking labyrinths. I came to the third labyrinth of the day, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Mamaroneck.

At the previous labyrinth, I had considered that I had such energy in my life, such anxiety and excitement, heading into the bishop election in June. But I haven’t noticed that energy since. Since then, I’ve been in something of a holding pattern. So I asked this question as I entered the labyrinth at St. Thomas: Where is there energy in my life now?

This labyrinth is an 11-circuit replica of the famous labyrinth in the cathedral in Chartres, France. The path is made of pavers, and the walls are cement.

As I walked, I discerned that there are two places in my life that I am feeling some amount of energy. One of them is a volunteer project I’ve taken on – editing transcriptions for a podcast called Suicide Noted. I’ve mentioned Suicide Noted before on this blog. Sean, the host, interviews people who have experience with suicide attempts or suicidal ideation. (I’ve been a guest myself.) Sean would like to have transcriptions of his podcasts available to people who might find that helpful. Many of them have been transcribed by an AI program, and while that’s a great start, they’re not perfect transcriptions. Somebody needs to listen and make corrections here and there. I offered to help, and I’ve been working on them in my free time for a little over a month. I find it to be both meaningful and satisfying. I think one thing I like about it is that I know I’m helping someone (Sean), and I believe I may also be helping others (his listeners). I like that I don’t have to make the judgment whether it’s helpful or not – I just do my work and trust that it is.

The other place I see some energy is the genealogical work I do on Ancestry.com, as I slowly discover more and more about my own family history. This doesn’t feel the same as the transcription work – it feels more self-indulgent. But it may be that I can do something to pivot that energy toward reaching out.

There’s a little energy here, a spark. How can I fan the flame? Maybe I can blog about a specific ancestor, share what I’ve discovered and what it means. Maybe I can blog about the meaning I find in genealogy. And maybe I can also blog about the Suicide Noted transcriptions, maybe even about something I appreciate or learn from an old episode I’m transcribing.