'You are enough."

I walked my favorite labyrinth* this weekend while making a 2-day personal retreat, something I try to do every couple of months. I didn't have a specific question going in. I just wanted to listen. And here's what I heard:

You are enough.

Seek to do enough

so that you have enough

to know that
you are enough.

An interesting message that I suppose could be interpreted in different ways. What I took from it was a reminder to balance the different parts of my life. In other words, do "just enough" and try to avoid perfectionism. Do this so I have enough "time" and "energy" not to get so depleted that I forget that I really am enough just as I am. Things have tipped rather heavily toward work of late (which is why I haven't posted or commented much lately.) So this sweet message was exactly what I needed to hear.



If you've never walked a labyrinth, I highly recommend giving it a try. I've found it to be a fascinating experience. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth has only one way in and one way out, and walking the path is incredibly meditative and calming. I've yet to walk one without gaining some perspective. Sometimes the message has been: "Will you just lighten up!?" Other times, I have a running dialogue with The Great Unknowable. I've even walked out with one word: "Heal" or "Rest" or "Enjoy."

I usually bow in reverence before entering a labyrnith, say a little prayer, and pose a question. By the time I reach the center, I almost always have an answer. Sometimes, that's not the case and an awareness comes to me on the way out. Such was my walk at dawn. In the past, I've worried when nothing became clear by the time I reached the center. But after many, many walks, I've learned to trust that I will exit with some very helpful guidance.


And my favorite labyrinth* is at Clare's Well, a retreat farm run by 3 Franciscan sisters, about an hour west of the Twin Cities. If you click the "take a closer look" link, be sure to check out the picture of the large labyrinth on the prairie as it appears with snow on the path. Sister Carol is so experienced creating labyrinths, she can make one just walking on fresh fallen snow atop the property's frozen Sabbath Pond. That's what I woke up to see one Minnesota morning when I was in the sorriest state I've ever experienced. It was such a breathtaking site, sparkling in the winter sun and beckoning me outside to reflect, enjoy beauty all around me, and soak up love. Not surprisingly, I've been hooked ever since.


May you find an answer or any guidance you seek by walking slowly and contemplatively on a labyrinth near you.

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So have you walked one?
Where's your favorite labyrinth?

I'd love to hear about your experience!

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Image by margaretsaizan