Walking the Labyrinth

We are into a new month, in a new year, and I walk the labyrinth with a dear friend, noting the many insights freely flowing, as we both embrace this ancient practice...

I observe how sometimes, our lives and our paths on this earth plane, intersect - and how we ride the same waves. Sometimes, our hearts beat in tandem with a select few with whom we cross paths: friends - family - or mere acquaintances...

Other times, we journey onward, shouldering the burdens of our lives and work on our own, living quiet lives of sadness and grief...

Every once in a while, a perfect stranger connects with us - at precisely the right moment in time - and gives us an important message or the key that will unlock a mystery in our lives...At other times, an affirmation of our life's work or direction is unexpectedly received...I marvel at the perfect set of circumstances that set such encounters in motion, so that we meet the right person - at precisely the right time in our lives...

Sometimes our lives run parallel to someone else's for a long time - or for nearly an entire life span - or perhaps for only a brief moment in time...

Sometimes there is an intensity, and then a break in a relationship - or a re-discovery, or a re-connecting occurring after decades...

Yet throughout it all, there is no separation...We have all been put here to do whatever it is that we came here to do - and God sends the support that is necessary for every leg of the journey...

But the only constant through it all, is the Presence and Love of God. It is the only thing that endures and is truly with us throughout this lifetime, and all others. There is no one person that is literally in your life in every moment...

Sometimes our lives unfold in an effortless way...Other times the path we walk, is more circuitous. But God's hand is always guiding us - if only we are able or willing to see and accept...

Like the labyrinth, our life, if lived long enough, is a road well traveled and seasoned by many rich experiences and insights - and precious gifts bestowed...

It was a blessing to receive such insights today. Often I walk, and do not glean anything of great importance. Still, I savor the experience just the same...

I walk into the center of the labyrinth and meditate with my friend for nearly an hour, lost in the Presence and Light of the Divine...I am grateful for all that is - and has been - and is yet to come. I am grateful for the trials and the tribulations weathered - and the brilliant ray of sunshine breaking through and shining on the shadow of all that has been lived and experienced in my life...

I repeat my prayers and mantras:

I and the Father are One...
Do not change the circumstances of my life - but change me!
For God alone suffices...
All shall be well...

Then I drop all of them and dwell only in the sacred silence and stillness of the cave of my own heart...

I enter into a state of bliss and union with the Divine that is both personal and is shared...In this wonderfully joyous experience of meditating, praying, thanking God, and sharing with a friend - I am sweetly reminded - that where two or three are gathered in His Name - there He is the midst of those blessed souls, residing in their hearts...

And after all, as this friend so often remarks - "What else is there?"