Labyrinth Miracles
By Ginger Worden
May 1, 2005
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do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
– “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver
I had a conversation with Joe Gilmore, a former minister here, in which
we talked about things spiritual and things a little para-normal. Joe hasn't ever had any use for those
Twilight zone kinds of things but he had a pretty spooky and uncanny thing
occur that made him reflect on the veil between this life and the next. He said he has concluded that there are some
circumstance and perhaps some physical
spots that he called “thin places” when
(or where) the veil between the physical and the spiritual seems to melt
away.
For
me, the labyrinth walk has become a way into such a “thin place”. Entering it, I leave behind the attachments
to my earthly life situation. As I
walk, letting the movement occupy my cognitive mind, I begin to open to my
inner source. In the center—for me—I
can simply receive—sometimes an “ah ha” sometimes stillness. As I return though the path, I am reborn to
my daily life but bring with me a slightly deepened spirit—and often some
observations that help me in the daily chaos.
I
want to read you a few reflections from others who have found small miracles
connected with the labyrinth.
Nancy Franz reported the following. I returned home {from labyrinth facilitator
training}, sat down at my computer and began writing invitations for the next
full moon labyrinth walk. I ended the
invitations with, “space is limited, please reserve a space”. As I typed those words, I felt this
immediate urge to go out into my pasture and walk the labyrinth. I have learned to listen carefully to those
urgings. With one foot inside the
labyrinth suddenly I heard a very loud flock of Canadian Geese. I looked up to see a large V flying over
head. Instead of flying on by, they
made a U turn and landed not far from where I was standing. On the ground their calls became louder and
soon another large V flew overhead, made a U turn and landed in the same spot.
Their calls became louder, and more geese came. For about 15 minutes geese came from every direction, made U turns
and landed in response to the calls of the geese on the ground. It was like watching a movie and I got the
message clearly. Do not worry so much
about the numbers, let the labyrinth call the people here who need it and let
those folks call to others. Just as I
received that clarity, all the geese took off at once with a tremendous
whoosh. Grateful for the lesson, I
returned to my computer and deleted the line reading, “space is limited.” More people came to that moon walk than ever
before. It was a wonderful evening!
And Judy Massey wrote:
The day after Thanksgiving we had a
"Renewal Walk" on our new outdoor
labyrinth. I was doing an introductory talk preceding
it in our parish hall.
Along with the usual mix of long haired women in shawls and the
more mystic
types which usually attend these, a retired military parishioner,
his wife,
daughter, and two young grandchildren walked in and sat
down. I knew this
man's cancer been declared in remission after surgery and chemo
and
radiation a couple of years ago, but that he learned recently that
the cancer
was back and spreading. I geared my talk to be inclusive of
the children and
therefore pretty simple. He "got" it.
The children
wanted to be first to walk and seemed delighted to begin.
Their mother was next, followed by the man's wife, and finally he
entered
with folded hands and head down. As the rest of the group
filled the
labyrinth I was not aware of him individually, but held my prayer
intentions
for everyone in the group.
The children were
first off and chose to walk again instead of going inside
to play in the toy corner. When a 5 and 7 year old will
choose the labyrinth
over playing, I feel there was a little miracle right there.
But the big one was
yet to come.
When their
grandfather finished walking he stood near the entrance looking
back in with a look of complete awe on his face. Next he
turned to me and said softly,
" I talked to God, I know
I talked to God." Then tears began to well up in his eyes and he
whispered through them, "I told
him I was comin' home and...." He was so choked up he
couldn't talk and I just
stroked his shoulders.
After a few
seconds, he looked up at me more composed and said,
"And now I'm not in pain about that anymore." A
calm smile spread
over his face. Here was the "peace that
passeth understanding", God's
awesome love breaking through to him as he faces "comin'
home".
In a few moments
his wife and daughter and grandchildren gathered around him. As they
walked away together my heart nearly burst with joy and the tears flowed like
fountains down my face.
So
today we embrace spring… birth… renewal. We invite you to take advantage of our labyrinth (your labyrinth)—play there
with children, light candles and walk it in honor of lost loved ones. Practice dying and returning.
“Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
The world offers itself to your imagination,
Calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—
Over and over announcing your place
In the family of things.”
Amen
© 2005
Ginger Worden.
All rights reserved.
