For me, Lent is a time to slow ourselves down, to ponder, to wander, to contemplate, to be still. Lent is a journey. Each Lenten journey is different and unique.
For me, the Labyrinth is a beautiful metaphor for the Lenten journey. You start at the beginning following the path set before you. Depending upon which style Labyrinth you walk, you twist and turn, sometimes facing the center (your goal), sometimes turning away from the center. If you stay on the path, trusting its wander way, you will end up in the Center — the center of your heart, the center of your soul, that sacred place where Spirit resides within you. Each step you take on the labyrinth is an invitation to prepare for the center — to slow, to deepen, to open yourself to the movement and presence of Spirit.
As you enter the Center, your walk has prepared you for being fully in the Presence of the Sacred. You are invited to commune with the Sacred. Stay there as long as you would like, Pray your questions and await answers. Release what no longer serves you. Heal. Sing. Be Still.
When you are ready, with gratitude in your heart, you follow the same path outward. Each turn toward the Center an opportunity to embody deeper gratitude for the blessings you received. Each turn away, an opportunity to prepare to re-enter the outer world, to integrate what you received in the Center with your ordinary life.
This is the Lenten journey. You have an opportunity this Lenten season to journey to the center of your Heart. What is there? What are you cherishing? What needs healing? What needs releasing? What are the shadows hiding? What is the Light illuminating?
I hope this Lenten season you will journey deep into the Center of the Center of the Center of your Heart.
image credit:
Jocelyn Emerson
Purple Adobe Lavender Farm Labyrinth
Ojo Caliente, NM